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/ 
PERSONAL MEMORIES 



W¥% 



SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND LITERARY 



Sketches of Many Noted People 



1803-1843 



/ BY 

E. D/ MANSFIELD, LLD " 

Author of "American Education," "Legal Rights of Women," 
"Life of Daniel Drake," etc., etc' ' 



\jio. .. 

\ -V 1879. ^/J 
CINCINNATI - /^ 0p w ,^<g 

ROBERT CLARKE & CO 

1879 



ET 338 



Copyrighted : 

E. D. MANSFIELD. 

1879- 



PREFACE. 



I had no such vanity as would Lave induced the 
publication of this book. It was urged upon me by 
others. Several years ago a number of gentlemen in 
Cincinnati sent me a written request to publish my 
reminiscences. After that my children made the 
same request. ]STot liking personal publicity, I paid, 
at first, little attention to the subject. Subsequently 
I began writing my memories in a series of letters to 
my children. In this form they had more of person- 
ality and of personal address than perhaps a printed 
book should have, but the reader will no doubt make 
allowance for that. 

One reason for my publishing these personal remi- 
niscences is, that I remembered I was always inter- 
ested, and I think others have been also, in this kind 
of narrative. Human nature is always interested in 
itself, and each individual looks with curiosity on the 
progress of others in the journey of life. This com- 
mon interest in each other is my best reason for this 
publication, a small contribution to the history of hu- 
man nature. It will satisfy the curiosity of some, 
inform others upon the social events of my time, and 
record some portions of unwritten history now almost 



iv Preface. 

. and which would otherwise remain unl 
known. 

,-• tiling ouglit to be mentioned. Many 
»ra I might be expected to speak are 
named, and of the large commercial class, among 
whom I had many friends, little is said. For this, I 
think, there are sufficient reasons. First, the period 
which I limited myself — 1803 to 1841 — excluded 
mosl of them; and secondly, while I was so limited, 
I ■ secluded, as far as possible, the living. If I should 
be encouraged by the public, or my strength will per- 
mit. I may add a second volume, which would bring 
the memories of my time through the War of the Re- 
bellion. Such a thing would be pleasing to myself; 
but, like all human events, is in the hands of Divine 
Providence, which ordereth all things right, and to 
which we Bhould submit with patient and humble 
ignation. E. D. M 

Y \.M<.\iu;.\. March, 1879. 









CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

My Father — Appointed Surveyor-General by Jefferson — Marietta 
in 1803 — Society — Madame Blennerhasset — Her Lament- 
Pioneer Survey of Indiana — Wild Animals of Ohio— Preva- 
lence of Intemperance and Infidelity 1-17 

CHAPTER II. 

Voyage down the Ohio — The "Ark" — "Keelboat" — Arrival at 
Cincinnati — General Findley — Fort Washington — Indian 
Lookout — Ludlow Station — Little Turtle; his Appearance, 
Character, and Death — Israel Ludlow — Sarah Bella Ludlow — 
John Mansfield 18-30 

CHAPTER III. 
First Observatory at Ludlow Station — Public Surveys — Society 
in the Country — War of 1812 — Volunteer Companies — Captain 
Mansfield— General Totten— Traveling in 1809— First View of 
a Steamboat — Log School House — The Hunters — Earthquakes 
of 1812 31-47 

CHAPTER IV. 
Journey to the East — The Wagoners— The Women of Stoning- 
ton — Capture of the Macedonian — New Haven — Bishop — Dr. 
Dwight — Noah Webster — Captain Powell — Libraries — My 
Studies— West Point— No Text-Books— Cheshire Teaching- 
Governor Foote 48-63 

CHAPTER V. 
West Point— Its Organization— Its Professors— Want of Text- 
Books— Cadet Life— Oral Teachings— Scenery and Memor- 
ials 64-77 

(v) 



vi Contents. 



CHAPTEB VI. 
anecticut Academy— Farmington— New England So-I 
, g People's Party— Timothy Pitkin— Missouri 

mpromi Effect in Connecticut— Return to West Point — 

Studii Mr. Pic ton 78-91 

CHAPTER VII. 

Princeton— College Lifi — Professors — Lindsley — Greene— Miller] 

— Alexander— Hodgi — My < Jlassmates— Senator Pearce — Pro- ! 

fessor Dod; Richardson — The Philosophy of Ideas; Wither- 1 

bj n— Chesterfield 92-103 ' 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Again at West Point — Reading, History, and International Law 

-A Party— Distinguished Visitors— De Witt Clinton— Dr. 

Mitchell — Eliza Leslie — .Mrs. Emma Willard — Percival the 

Poet— Female Education — Sally Pierce — Nathaniel Carter — 

Lonel Stone — Percival at Midnight.. 104-121 

CHAPTER IX. 
Litchfield — Law School — Noted Men — Judge Reeve — Judge 
( rould— Anecdotes — Uriah Tracey — John Pierpoint — The Wol- 
cotts— The Demings — Col. Tallmadge — Talk with Governor 
Wolcott — Connecticut Politics — The Seymours — Dr. Sheldon 
—Mode of Life— Dr. Beecher 122-140 

CHAPTEB X. 
I i Cincinnati — Voyage Down the Ohio — Judge Baldwin 
— fudge Torrence— My Case— Nicholas Longworth — Martin 
Baum — Peyton Symmes — Dr. Wilson— Father Burke — 
Churches in Cincinnati— Bishop Fenwick — Aydelotte — John- 
i Jacob Burnet, hi- Useful 1. if.— David K. Este— Nathan- 
iel Wright— Gazley— William I.ytle— Robert Lytle 141-1G6 

CHAPTER XI. 

..•1 Drake, his Genius and Character— Dr. Goforth— Cin. 

nati in 1805 — Medical Practice; Drake founds the Ohio 

is turned oul by his Colleagues; "Horace 

in Cincinnati ' Drake's Monody on the Death of his Wife— 



Contents. vii 



Moses Dawson — Charles Hammond, Editor and Lawyer — 
States Rights in Ohio — Literary Institutions — Hiram Powers — 
Poets— W. D. Gallagher 107-184 

CHAPTER XII. 
Society in Cincinnati — Parties — Theaters— Actors — Prevalent 
Diseases — Taking the Census — Mechanics — Strange Imposition 
—General Ross 185-201 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Presidency— Candidates in 1824— John Quincy Adams — 
Clay's Vote for Adams— Speech at Mack's Tavern— Henry 
Clay and his Character 2U2-218 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Thomas Corwin; his Genius, Career, Eloquence, and Character — 
Jackson ; his Canvass for the Presidency — " Truth's Advocate" 
—Burr and Jackson 219-235 

CHAPTER XV. 
Nullification— Calhoun's Theory — Hamilton's Speech — South 
Carolina Volunteers — Curious Incidents in South Carolina — 
Webster's Speech — Jackson's Position — The Proclamation — 
The Tariff— The Compromise — Failure of Oratory — Success of 
the Republic 236-253 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Cholera— Its Advent, Progress, and Mortality— Dr. Drake's 
Literary Parties — General King — Mrs. King (Mrs. Peters) — 
Catharine Beecher — Harriet Beecher (Mrs. Stowe) — Professor 
Stowe — Judge Hall — Mrs. Caroline Hentze — College of Teach- 
ers — Albert Pickett— Joshua Wilson — Alexander Kinmont — 
James Perkins — Dr. Beecher — Alexander Campbell — Thomas 
L. Grimke 254-276 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Ormsby Mitchell — The Political Grammar — Dr. Lyman Beecher 
— John Quincy Adams — Abolition — Right of Petition — Bank 
of the United States — Removal of the Deposits — Storer and 
Lytle — Cincinnati College — Dr. McGuffey — Charles Telford — 
Cincinnati Chronicle — Benjamin Drake — Myself. 277-295 



viii Contents. 



CHAPTEB XVIII. 
hem Railroad— My Article and Speech— Public Meeting in 
inati — Drake — J. S. Williams— .Judge Hall— General 
II irrison— Knoxville Convention — Ohio Delegates — Scenery 
.hi the. Tennessee River — Cincinnati Mob — Court-house Meet- 
ing—Commercial Crisis of 1S37 — First Observatory at Ludlow 
Station — Mitchell's Observatory 296-310 

CHAPTEB XIX. 

Political Campaign of 1840 — Van Buren — Washington Scandal — 

Break between Calhoun and Jackson — Van Buren's Success — 

Nomination of Harrison — Log Cabins and Hard Cider— Glee 

n gs — Defeat of Van Buren — Salt Liver — Lamenta- 

311-328 

CHAPTEB XX. 
The Newspaper Press — Its Origin, Character, and Purposes — The 
English Press — Public Writers — The "Morning Chronicle" 
— Vox and Sheridan — " Public. Advertiser" — Junius — The 
American Press — Freneau — Duane — Bitchie — Bobert Walsh — 
'■ Evening Post" — Coleman — " National Intelligencer" — Gales 
— "New York Times" — Henry J. Baymond — Horace Greeley 
and Socialism — What should be the Tone and Character of a 
Newspaper 329-3-48 



PERSONAL MEMORIES. 

By E. D. MANSFIELD. 



My Father — Appointed Surveyor- General by Jefferson — 
Marietta in 1803 — Society — Madam Blennerhasset — 
Her Lament — Pioneer Survey of Indiana — Wild Ani- 
mals of Ohio — Prevalence of Intemperance and Infi- 
delity. 

The reader of "Personal Memories" must desire to 
know something of the writer, and of his qualifica- 
tions to interest the public. 

My father's family came from Exeter, in England, 

landed at Boston in 1634, and were among the first 

settlers in New Haven, in 1639. They were upright, 

intelligent people, who, with their descendants, have 

continued from that time to this— a period of two 

hundred and forty years — without reproach; always 

in respectable situations, and some of them in public 

life. My father, Jared Mansfield, was, all his life, a 

teacher, a professor, and a man of science. He began 

his life as a teacher in New Haven, where he taught 

a mathematical school, and afterward taught at the 

"Friends' Academy," in Philadephia, where he was 

during the great yellow-fever season, and went from 

there to West Point, where he taught in the Military 

Academy, in 1802-3 and in 1814-28. In the mean- 



Personal Manor 



time, however, he was nine years in the State of Ohio, 
holding the position of Surveyor-General of the 
United States. The manner of his appointment, and 
the work he performed, will illustrate his character 
and introduce a small, but interesting chapter of 
ev< ■ 

AVhile teaching, at New Haven, he had several pu-| 
pils who afterward became famous, or rather distin- 
guished men. Two of these were Abraham and 
Henry Baldwin. The first was afterward United 
States Senator fiom Georgia, and the second, Jmlge 
of the Supreme Court of the United States. These 
. as may lie inferred, had decided talents, but were 
full of mischief. One day they played a bad trick upon 
my father, their teacher, and he whipped them very 
severely. Their father complained, and the ease came 
before a magistrate; Inn my father was acquitted. It 
may be thought that the hoys would have become my 
father's enemies. Xot so; they were of a generous 
temperament, ami knew their conduct had been 
wrong; this they acknowledged, and they became my 
father's fast friends. Judge Henry Baldwin told me 
that nothing bad ever done him so much good as that 
whipping; and the brothers were warm in their 
friendship to my father, both in word and act. 

While teaching, in New Haven, be published a 

book entitled "Essays on Mathematics." It was an 

rinal work, and but a few copies were sold; for 

there were bill I'vw men in the country who could 

understand it. The hook, however, established Lis 

reputation a- a man of scieuce, and greatly influenced 

afterlife. Abraham Baldwin was, at that time, 

utor from Georgia, and brought this book to the 



Personal Memories. 



notice of Mr. Jefferson, who was fond of science and 
scientific men. i The consequence was, that my father 
became a captain of engineers, appointed by Mr. 
Jefferson, with a view to his becoming one of the pro- 
fessors at the West Point Military Academy, then es- 
tablished by law. Accordingly, he and Captain Bar- 
ron, also of the engineers, were ordered to West Point, 
and became the first teachers of the West Point cadets 
in 1802. He was there about a year, when he received 
a new appointment, to a new and more arduous field in 
the West. 

Mr. Jefferson had been but a short time in office, 
when he became annoyed by the fact that the public 
surveys were going wrong, for the want of establish- 
ing meridian lines; for the accuracy of the surveys 
depended upon establishing meridian lines with base 
lines at right angles to them. The surveyors of that 
time, including General Rufus Putnam, then Sur- 
veyor-General, could not do this. Mr. Jefferson 
wanted a man who could perform this work well, 
necessarily, therefore, a scientific man. This came to 
the ears of Mr. Baldwin, who strongly recommended 
my father, as being, in fact, the most scientific man of 
the country. My father did not quite like the idea of 
such a work, for he was a scholar and mathematician, 
fond of a quiet and retired life. 

He foresaw, clearly, that going to Ohio, then a fron- 
tier State, largely inhabited by Indians and wolves, to 
engage in public business involving large responsibili- 
ties, would necessarily give him more or less of trou- 
ble and vexation. He was, however, induced to go, 
under conditions which, I think, were never granted 
to any other officer. It was agreed that while he was 



Personal Memoi 



raged in the public service in the West, his com- 
mission in the engineer corps should go on, and he be 

entitled to promotion, although he received but one 
Balary, that of Surveyor-General. In accordance with 
this agreement, he received two promotions while 
in Ohio, and his professorship at West Point was (on 
the recommendation of President Madison), subse- 
quently, by law, conformed to the agreement, with 
the rank and emoluments of lieutenant-colonel. 

I mention this, to show the confidence that Presi- 
dents Jefferson and Madison had in him, and the re- 
spect which, in those days, was paid to men of science. 
Alas! that it should not be so now. I do not think 
my country has, on the the whole, gone backward; 
hut it is in vain to say, that worth, virtue, or tal- 
en1 can any longer expect cither the reward or re- 
union which they received at the hands of the 
early administration of the government. In these 
day- office is the reward of partisan services. It is 
true, that occasionally a literary man is appointed to 
office ; but J do not remember a single man of science, 
who, in the last twenty years, has received office at 
the hands of the government, as a reward or reco^ni- 
tion of his distinction as a man of science. Irving, 
Bancroft, Motley. Bayard Taylor, and Lowell have 
been appointed to foreign missions, probably from 
their distinction as literary men; hut where is there 
a man of Bcience who has received from the govern- 
menl any recognition of his services? Professors 
Benry, A.gassiz, and others have been distinguished 
in public service, hut never at the hands of the gov- 
ernment. 

My lather, so tar as I know, was the only man ap- 



Personal Memories. 



pointed to an important public office solely on the 
around of his scientific attainments. This was due to 
Mr. Jefferson, who, if not himself a man of science, 
was really a friend of science. 

My father's removal to the "West, which took place 
in 1803, required in those days a long journey, much 
time, and a. good deal of trouble. The reader will 
understand that there were then no public convey- 
ances west of the Allegheny. Whoever went to Ohio 
from the East had to provide his own carriage, and 
take care of his own baggage. At that time there 
was really but one highway from the East to the 
West, and that was the great Pennsylvania route 
from Philadelphia to Pittsburg. It professed to be a 
turnpike, but was really only a passable road, and on 
the mountains narrow and dangerous. It was chiefly 
traversed by the wagoners who earned goods from 
Philadelphia to the West. A private carriage and 
driver, such as my father had to have, was the abhor- 
rence of the wagoners, who considered it simply an 
evidence of aristocracy. They threatened, and often 
actually endangered, private carriages. My mother 
used to relate her fears and anxieties on that journey, 
and, as contrasted with the mode of traveling at the 
present day, that journey was really dangerous. Ar- 
rived at Marietta, Ohio, my father established his of- 
fice there for the next two years. At , first, some 
trouble arose from differences of political opinions at 
Marietta. Political excitement at the election of Jef- 
ferson had been very high, perhaps never more so. 
General Rufus Putnam, my father's predecessor as 
Surveyor-General, had been a Revolutionary officer 
and a Federalist, while my lather was a Republican 






/' onal Memories. 



(now called Democrat), and supposed to be a partisan 
Jeft'crson. This political breeze, however, soon 
passed over. The people of Marietta were, in gen. 
eral, intelligent, upright people, and my father not 
one to quarrel without cause. The Putnams were 
polite, and my parents passed two years at Marietta! 
pleasantly and happily. I, who was but a little child 
ol thr< e or tour years of age, was utterly oblivious to 
what might ffo -in iii Marietta society. 

Two tilings, however, impressed themselves upon 
me. They must have occurred in the summer and 
spring of 1805. The first was what was called "The 
Greal Flood." There is a good deal said, every little 
while, about extraordinary cold, heat, or high water, 
but all these things have occurred before, and nothing 
of natural phenomena has happened in the last half 
century which has not happened before. The impres- 
sion on my mind is that of the river Ohio rising so 
high as to flood the hover part of Marietta. We 
lived some distance from the Ohio, but on the lower 
plain, so thai the water came up into our yard, and it 
mi- to me I can still recall the wood and chips 
floating in the vard. However, all memories of such 
early years are indistinct, and can only be relied on 
for general impressions. My mother insisted that she 
d remember Colonel Sabin riding through the 
eets of New Haven with a drawn sword, (.awing, 
urn out ; '1 urn out !" on the invasion of the Brit- 
ish Tories under Tryon and Arnold. This was in 
177'.'. and she was only three years old. It is said that 
old people decay in the memory of recent events, but 
my mother had no loss of memory. It was the same 
to her whether the event was a year or seventy years 



I 



Personal Memories. 



old. As I was four years old at the time of the Ma- 
rietta flood, it is probable that my impressions of it 
are correcf. - 

The other event which impressed itself upon my 
mind was the vision of a very interesting and very re- 
markable woman. One day, and it seems to have 
been a bright summer morning a ladv and a little bov 
called upon my mother. I played with the boy, and 
it is probable this circumstance which impressed it on 
my mind, for the boy was handsomely dressed, and 
had a fine little sword hanging by his side. The lady, 
as it seems to me, was handsome and bright, laughing 
and talking with my mother. That lady soon be- 
came historical — her life a romance, and her name a 
theme of poetry, and a subject of eloquence. It was 
Madame Blennerhasset. Although the main facts in 
her history are known, perhaps a brief account of her 
may interest the reader. Blennerhasset was an Irish- 
man, of good family and education, but of fanciful 
and visionary ideas. His wife was an accomplished 
lady of high family. From some idea of adventure 
or romance, Blennerhasset moved to Ohio, and bought 
and improved what is known as Blennerhasset's 
Island. It is about- twelve miles below Marietta, 
and is held by a patent received by Patrick Henry. 
There he built an elegant house, had a fine library, a 
philosophical apparatus, and a beautiful garden. Of 
these nothing now remains. Blennerhasset was one 
of the victims of Aaron Burr — became involved in his 
wild schemes, was driven from the island, which was 
left in ruins, the house burned, and the garden de- 
stroyed. The Virginia militia, who came in from 
Wood county with lofty patriotism on their tongues, 



8 Personal 31emories. 



Aver.- alike indifferent to beauty or to culture. The 
public history of Blennerhasset and Burr is well 
known, but that of Margaret Blennerhasset is more 
interesting than either. It is seventy yearssince Wirt, 
in tin- trial of Burr, uttered his beautiful and poetic 
description of Madam Blennerhasset and the island 
she admired. Poetic as it was, it did less than justice 
to the woman. An intelligent lady who was intimate 
with her, and afterward visited the courts of England 
and France, said she had never beheld one who was 
Mrs. I ilt-n noi liasset'a equal in beauty, dignity of man- 
ners, elegance of dress, and all that was lovely in the 
person of woman. With all this she was as domestic 
in her habits, as well acquainted with housewifery, 
the art of sewing, as charitable to the poor, as ambi- 
tious for her husband, as though she were not the 
'■<,>iiecn of the Fairy Isle." She was as strong and 
m tivc in body as she was graceful. She could leap a 
five-rail fence, walk ten miles at a stretch, and ride a 
horse with the boldest dragoon. She frequently rode 
from the island to Marietta, exhibiting her skill in 
horsemanship and elegance of dress. Robed in scar- 
lei broadcloth, with a white beaver hat, on a spirited 
horse, she might be seen dashing through the dark 
woods, reminding one of the flight and gay plumage 
of some tropical bird; but, like the happiness of 
Eden, all this was to have a sudden and disastrous 
end. The "Queen of the Fairy Isle" was destined to 
a fate more severe than it' her lot had been cast in the 
rudest log cabin. Associated with the schemes of 
Burr, Blennerhasset was compelled to fly. The Vir- 
ginia militia ravaged his beautiful home, and the 
island returned to the barbarism from which it had 



Personal Memories. 9 

emerged. Mrs. Blennerhasset accompanied her hus- 
band to Natchez, where they lived for a time, and 
thence to Montreal. After her husband's death she re- 
turned to England, but came back finally to New 
York, having declined gradually from splendid for- 
tune to pinching want. While on the St. Lawrence 
she wrote the u Lament to the Fairy Isle." The follow- 
ing are two stanzas : 

" The stranger that descends Ohio's stream, 

Charmed with the beauteous prospects that arise, 
Marks the soft isles that 'neath the glistening beam 
Dance in the wave and mingle in the skies — 
Sees also one, that now in ruin lies, 
Which erst, like Fairy Queen, towered o'er the rest, 
In every native charm by culture dressed. 

" There rose the seat, where once, in pride of life, 
My eye could mark the Queen of rivers flow ; 
In summer's calmness, or in winter's strife, 

Swollen with rains, or battling with the snow- 
Never again my heart such joy will know. 
Havoc and ruin, and rampant war have passed 
Over that isle with their destroying blast." 

The end of this accomplished woman none can 
think of without a sigh. Reduced to absolute want 
in New York, she died and was buried by a benevo- 
lent society of Irish women— 

"By foreign hands, thy humble grave adorned, 
By strangers honored, and by strangers mourned." 

During my father's residence at Marietta, there ap- 
peared in the Marietta paper a series of articles in 
favor of the schemes of Burr, and indirectly a sepa- 
ration of the Western and Eastern states. Th^se ar- 
ticles were censured by another series, signed a Regu- 
lus," which denounced the idea of separating the states, 



; 



10 Personal Memories. 



and supported the Union and the administration of Jef- , 
jon. At the time, and to this day, the writer wasl 
and is, unknown. They are mentioned in Hildreth'J 
•• Pioneer History/'" as by an unknown author. They 
were, in fact, written by my father, and made a strong 
impression at the time. For an account of the so- 
ciety and people at Marietta, I am indebted to my 
ther, of whom. I will here make such mention as 
is proper. Her maiden name was Phipps, and my 
grandfather Phipps came from Falmouth, Maine, to 
New Eaven, Connecticut. He had the distinction — 
for in a historical sense, such it was— ot being an offi- 
in the first naval squadron ever fitted out by the 
United States. He sailed under Commodore Hopkins, 
who captured the island of New Providence in the 
Bahamas from the British; he remained in the navy 
dining his life and was a remarkable man ; he was a 
strict disciplinarian and a pious Christian. Once, 
when commanding the frigate Essex, he heard the 
sailors swearing; lie called the men up and said: 
•• Men ; there must be no swearing on board this ship ; 
I do all the Bwearing." For some } T ears after the Rev- 
olution, the (lovernnient having no employment for 
him, he commanded a merchant ship trading with 
Holland and Ireland. In his voyages from Ireland, 
he broiighl from Londonderry and Belfast a large 
number of [rish emigrants, among the first who came 
to i hi- eoiint ry. 

Of my mother's early education. I never could learn 

thai she bad had more than that of the common 

it that time common enough. I have 

beard her Ray, that, when a child, her teacher was 

Mi's. Henry Mansfield, the mother of General Joseph; 



Personal Memories. 11 

Mansfield, killed at Antietam. My mother, probably 
got no other education, in the popular sense, than 
reading, writing, and, perhaps, geography. But — 
was that all? If it were, it was pretty good proof 
that more than that was not necessary to make a very 
intelligent person ; for there were few people so well 
qualified, either for the duties of life, society, church, 
or state. The truth was, however, that my mother 
was brought up in a very religious family, and there- 
fore had all the knowledge that the Bible and the 
church can give, and that is not a little. In the next 
place, she had a strong literary taste, read all the En- 
glish classics, with the popular literature of the times, 
and remembered what she read. Her husband being 
a man of letters and of science; she was always in 
the best society and acquainted with many distin- 
guished literary and scientific people. This social edu- 
cation is, perhaps, the best, and, with her naturally 
strong mind, made my mother a superior woman. 
She needed none of the forms of schools, nor any fash- 
ionable accomplishments, to place her in the first rank 
of educated society. What others had of music, danc- 
ing, languages, or dress, she more than supplied with 
the flow of her full, cheerful, and brilliant mind. Gen- 
tlemen and ladies, young and old people, officers and 
scholars were glad to visit Mrs. Mansfield, lingering in 
her society until late hours and parting with regret, 
"from what was indeed a "■feast of reason and flow of 
soul." She had strong views of politics, and was a 
great patriot ; for this, she had, in her experience, 
good reason. When Arnold and Tryon captured !N"ew 
Haven, in the Revolution, my mother's family suf- 
fered; some of them fled to the country, and others 



12 



Personal Memories. 



remained. It was then that her great uncle, Ben- 
jamin English, when over eighty years of age, was 
stabbed in his chair and killed by a Hessian soldier. 
That incident never faded from my mother's memory! 
and a warmer patriot or a greater enemy to the En- 
glish government, than my mother, never lived. Here 
lei me say, that I am indebted for my political opin- | 
ions to two persons, except so far as they have beer 
modified by my studies and experience. These per- 
sons were my mother and Oliver Wolcott, of Connec- 
ticut. Of the latter 1 shall speak again. The reader 
may ask if I got no opinions from my father. Some, 
certainly; but not of that positive character and in- 
fluence which marked my mother's principles and 
views, lie was a philosopher, a student of science, 
and a teacher; his mind was cool and philosophical, 
while my mother's was positive, direct, and earnest. I 
She believed in the triumph of Christianity ; in the 
success of the American Republic, the overthrow of 
the British Government, and the downfall of all op] 
pression. She was lion-hearted, and would have died 
a martyr to her opinions had it been necessary. Such 
w;i- my mother, and from her I derived most of my 
information about the early society of Marietta and 
Cincinnati. Among her friends in Marietta were the 
Putnams, the Meigs" family, the Greenes, the Backus' 
family, and the Stones. Some of these families seem 
to have disappeared; bul some have left descendants. 
Here lei me remark on the society of the past genera- 
tiou, as compared with the present. There is always 
in the present time, a disposition to exaggerate either 
its merits or it< faults. Those who take a hopeful 
view of things, and wonder at our inventions and dis- 



Personal Memories. 13 



covcries, think that society is advancing and we are 
o-oiiiii straight into the milleninm. On the other hand, 
those who look upon the state of society to-day, es- 
pecially if they are not entirely satisfied with their own 
condition, are apt to charge society witli degeneracy. 
They see crimes and corruptions, and assert that soci- 
ety is growing worse. Let me here assure the reader 
that this is not true, and that while we have all reason 
to lament the weakness of human nature, it is not 
true that society is declining. ISTo fact is more easily 
demonstrated than that the society of educated peo- 
ple — and they govern all others — is in a much better 
condition now than it was in the days succeeding the 
Revolution. The principles and ideas that caused the 
French Revolution, at one time, brought Atheism and 
Free Thinkers into power in France, and largely pen- 
etrated American society. 

Skepticism, or, as it was called, Free Thinking, was 
fashionable ; it was aided and strengthened by some 
of the most eminent men of the times. Jefferson, 
Burr, Pierrepont-. Edwards, of Connecticut, and many & 
men of the same kind, were not only skeptics, but 
scoffers at Christianity. Their party came into power, 
and gave a sort of official prestige to irreligion. But 
this was not all; a large number of the revolutionary 
army were licentious men. Of this cla-s were Burr, 
Hamilton, and others of the same stripe. Hamilton 
was not so unprincipled a man as Burr, but belonged 
to the same general caste of- society. No one can 
deny this, for he published enough about himself to 
prove it. Dueling, drinking, licentiousness, were not 
regarded by the better class of society as the unpar- 
donable sins which they are now regarded. At that 



i 



14 Personal .V 



time, wine, spirits, and cordials were offered to gues 
at all hours of the day, and not to offer them was coi 
sidered a want of hospitality. The consequence w 
that intemperance, in good society, was more commo 
than now, but probably not more so among the gre; 
masses of the people. Intemperance is now chie 
the vice of laboring men, but then it pervaded a 
classes of soeietv. Judge Burnet, in his "!N"otes o 
the Northwest." says, that of nine lawyers cotemp 
rary with himself, in Cincinnati, all but one die 
drunkards. We see, then, that, with a large measui 
of infidelity, licentiousness, and intemperance among; 
the higher classes, society was not really in so good a 
state as il is now. At Marietta, were several men of 
superior intellects, who were infidels, and others when 
were intemperate. And yet this pioneer town waaj 
probably one of the best examples of the society of i 
pioneer times. 

I have said that my father was appointed to estab-l 
li-h the meridian lines. At that time but a part of j. 
Ohio had been surveyed, and he made Marietta his! 
headquarters. 

In the rapid progress of migration to the West, his 
surveys also were soon necessary in Western Ohio and | 
in Indiana. Indiana was then an unbroken wilder* 
. although the French had established the post of 
Vincennes. This was one of a line of posts which 
they established from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, 
with a view to holding all the valley of the Mississippi] 
There may have been a settlement at Jefferson villej 
opposite I. ouisville, hut except these there was not a 
white settlement in Indiana. It became necessary t J 
extend the surveyed lines through thai state, then 



Personal Memories. 15 



only a part of the Great Northwest Territory. For 
this purpose, my father, in 1805, in the month of Oc- 
tober, undertook a surveying expedition in Indiana. 
As it was necessary to live in the wilderness, prepa- 
rations for so doing were made. The surveying party 
consisted of my father, three or four surveyors, two 
regular hunters, and several pack-horses. The busi- 
ness of the hunters was to procure game and bring it 
into the camp at night. Flour, coffee, salt, and sugar 
were carried on pack-horses, but for all meat the party 
depended on the hunters. They went out early in the 
morning for game and returned only at night. As the 
surveying party moved only in a straight line, and the 
distance made in the day was known, it was easy for 
the hunters to join the others in camp. It was in this 
expedition that some of those incidents occurred that 
illustrate the life of a woodsman. One day the hunt- 
ers had been unfortunate, and got no game, but 
brought in a large rattlesnake, which they cut into 
slices and broiled on the coals. My father did not try 
that kind of steak, but the hunters insisted the flesh 
was sweet and good. On another day a hunter was 
looking into a cave in the rocks and found two pan- 
ther's cubs, he put them in a bag, and afterward ex- 
hibited them in New Orleans. Here let me say that 
posterity will never know the kinds and numbers of 
wild animals which once lived on the plains of the 
Ohio. Some are already exterminated, east of the 
Mississippi, and can only be found on the mountains 
of the West. A citizen of these days will probably 
be astonished to hear that the buffalo was once com- 
mon in Ohio, and roamed even on the banks of the 
Muskingum; but such was the fact. A large part of 



16 Personal Memories. 



Ohio wa9 at one time a prairie, and the vegetation of 1 
ill.' valley very rich. The wild plum, the papaw, the] 
walnut, and all kinds of berries were abundant, so that 
Ohio was as fruitful and abundant to Indians and wild 
animals as it has since been to the white man. In the j 
valleys of the Muskingum, the Scioto, and the Mil 
amis, were Indian towns where they cultivated corn, 
as white men do now. Marietta, Chillicothe, Circle- 
ville, Cincinnati, Xenia, and Piqua are all on the sites 
of old Indian towns. The wild animals and the wild 
Indian were as conscious as the civilized white man 
that Ohio was an inviting land — a garden rich in the 
products which God had made for their support. But 
man was commanded to live by labor, hence, when 
man, the laborer, came, he supplanted man, the hunter. 

The animals most common in Ohio were the deer, 
the wild turkey, squirrel, buffalo, panther, and wolves. 
All these were found near Marietta, and all but the 
buffalo subsequently near Cincinnati. Deer, turkeys 
and squirrels were very numerous, and I have heard 
wolves near the present limits of Cincinnati. It is 
not my purpose, however, to go into the natural his- 
tory of Ohio. The inhabitants of the woods fast dis- 
appeared before the man with the spade. I, myself, 
saw birds and animals in the valleys of the Miamis 
which no man will hereafter see wild in these regions. 
I recollect one bird which made a great impression on 
me — the paroquet— much like the parrot, its colors 
being green and gold, but was smaller. This bird I 
have Been at Ludlow station in large flocks. I was 
tol9 it was never seen east of the Scioto. 

Our residence a1 Marietta lasted two years. In 1803 
Ohio u;:> admitted into the Union, with a constitu- 



Personal Memories. 17 

tion, which continued until 1850. The first Constitu- 
tion of Ohio was, I thought, the best constitution I 
ever saw, for the reason that it had the fewest limi- 
tations. Having established the respective functions 
of government, judicial, executive, and legislative, it 
put no limitation on the power of the people, and in 
a democratic government there should be none. For 
half a century Ohio grew, flourished, and prospered 
under its first constitution. It was the best and bright- 
est period Ohio has had. It was the era of great pub- 
lic spirit, of patriotic devotion to country, and of the 
building up of great institutions of educatiou which 
are now the strength and glory of the state. In 
forming educational institutions I had some part my- 
self, and I look upon that work w 7 ith unalloyed pleas- 
ure. 



, 



18 



Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER II. 

V iage down the Ohio— The "Ark"— ■" Keelboat"— Ar- 
rival at Cincinnati— General Findley—Fort Washing- 
ton—Indian Lookout— Ludlow Station— Little Turtle; 
his appearance, character, and death — Israel Ludlow 
I Ua Ludlow — John Hans field. 

AlMONG the most remarkable characteristics of a 
country is its scenery. I am now writing on the first 
day of autumn, and in this region of the country, au- 
tumn i- the most beautiful of the four seasons. A 
cloudless sky, a cool but balmy air, the grass green 
and fresh from recent rains, the foliage still rich and 
verdant, the distant scone mixed with every element 
of rural beauty, all unite to make this a lovely and 
beautiful season. I imagine it was on some such day, 
though a month later, in 1805, that my father and 
mother, with their little boy, left Marietta for Cincin- 
nati. There was then neither railroad, steamboat, nor 
Btage. I low were they to travel? 

There were two kinds of boats on the Ohio, sub- 
stantially the same, but different in their make. One 
was called a keelboat, and the body was like that of a 
small steamboat, but was propelled by poles. Long, 
Btrong poles, with iron points, were used by men who 
put their .-boulders at one end of the pole, and by 
walking the length of the boat, pushing, gained a dis- 
tance equal t<> the length of the boat. Six or eight 
ne ii, b\ poling, could thus push a boat up stream, 



Personal Memories. 19 

and the keelboats were the only boats that could go 
up stream. Some of these boats had small cabins, 
well fitted up for families; but I think our boat wa8 
not of that kind, but an ark, as it was called, from a 
supposed resemblance to Noah's vessel. It was sim- 
ply an oblong boat, made of boards, with a flat bot- 
tom. In the one we came in, there was a small cabin 
at one end fitted up for my mother. The keelboat 
has disappeared, but the ark is occasionally seen ; for 
it is a cheap conveyance, needing only a steersman to 
keep it in the channel, and when it gets to the end of 
its journey is broken up and sold for lumber. 

We arrived in Cincinnati, I think, the last part of 
October, 1805. Here occurs the first memory of which 
I am absolutely sure. Cincinnati was the first town I 
had seen, except Marietta, for the various towns now 
on the Ohio were then not in existence. But what 
was Cincinnati then ? One of the dirtiest little vil- 
lages you ever saw. Of course, I was not driven 
around that immense town to see its splendors, but 
the principal street or settlement w 7 as Front street, 
and that I saw. The chief houses at that time were 
on Front street, from Broadway to Sycamore; they 
were two-story frame houses, painted white. One w T as 
that of General Findley, receiver of the land office. 
This gentleman belonged to a family in Pennsylvania 
distinguished in political affairs. One member of this 
famil}' was governor of Pennsylvania, one was member 
of Congress from the Chambersburg district, and James 
Findley, of whom I speak, was receiver of public 
moneys in Cincinnati, and subsequently member of 
Congress from the Cincinnati district. The Findleys 
were all of a popular caste of character. They were 



20 Personal Memories. 

Bangui ne, pleasant, geuial men. Belonging to the 
Democratic party, at a time when that party was 
dominant in nearly all the states, they were readily 
promoted to political honors. James Findley may be 
properly characterized as a gentleman — not so com- 
mon a character as some persons suppose. He Avas 
easy in manner, kind hearted, genial, fond of good 
living, and a very upright man. The Findleys and 
my parents were intimate, hence I have described 
James Findley. We remained in Cincinnati but a 
few days, when my father removed to "Ludlow Sta- 
tion." You may ask why a station? ISTobody would 
give BUch a name to a honse now. In the early set- 
tlement of the Miami country, there was much fear ot 
the Indians, less, however, by far, than attended the 
subsequent settlements in Indiana and Illinois. In 
tact, and to the honor of John Cleves Symmes, the 
founder of the Miami settlements, be it said, that he 
Bought, not to destroy and oppress the Indians, but 
to conciliate them by equity and justice. No general 
war with the Indians ever occurred in the Miami 
country, but of course there were some collisions be- 
tween them and the whites. Between Fort Wash- 
ington, the original site of Cincinnati, and Fort Ham- 
ilton, where Hamilton now is, there were several 
affrays. In one of them a white man was killed who 
wore ;i wig. It is said that, according to the Indian 
habit, an Indian ran up to scalp him, and took hold 
of the wig; it came oil"; the Indian looked up aston- 
ished, and exclaimed, "One big lie!" The Indian 
Beema to have understood one principle of moral phi- 
losophy \eiy well— that a- lie could be acted as well 
a- Bpoken. These difficulties were over before I came 



Personal Memories. 21 

upon the stage, and while Fort Washington was yet 
occupied as a military post by United States troops. 
At that time the Indians often came near the fort, 
especially on the neighboring hills. The wife of Col- 
onel Strong, who was an officer in the fort, told me that 
she had often met and conversed with White Eyes 
and other Indian chiefs. White Eves told her he had 
often watched what was ffoing on in the fort from 
what has since been the site of the old Cincinnati 
Observatory. On the brow of the hill (Mt. Adams), 
there was then a very large oak tree, which I have 
myself seen. It was in the branches of this tree that 
White Eyes concealed himself, looked down upon the 
fort, and saw all that was going on. 

At the time I came upon the scene as a child, in 
1805-6, the Indians had almost wholly passed away 
from this region, and no danger was apprehended 
from them. The "stations,'' as they were called, of 
which Ludlow was one, were originally points of ren- 
dezvous and defense. They soon ceased to be of that 
character, but their names remained on the popular 
tongue and on the maps almost until the present day. 
We removed, as I have said, to Ludlow Station. It 
was built by Colonel Ludlow, one of the original pro- 
prietors of Cincinnati. It was then a large two-story 
dwelling, with wings — the best looking and, I think, 
the largest house then at Cincinnati. My father 
being Surveyor-General took one of the wings as his 
office, and the other was used as a kitchen; a lawn 
sloped down toward Millcreek, and there was a large 
garden. This house is still standing in the midst of 
Cumminsville. This leads, me to what I thought a 
remarkable incident. After the campaign and vie- 



■j j Personal Memories. 



tory of Wayne in 1795, a treaty was made with the 
Indians railed the treaty of Greenville. The north- 
era boundary of the Indians, one point of which was 

enville, ran through northern Ohio, and had been 
not quite determined when my father came to Ludlow 
Station. It was one part of his business to run that 
line, and it was something in reference to that which 
occasioned the following incident. 

One day a dark man, with swarthy countenance, 
riding a very line horse, dismounted at our house and 
went into my father's office. I wanted to go in and 

him, hut for some reason was not allowed to. Af- 
ter some time — it was in the forenoon, I think — I saw 
him come out, mount his horse, and ride rapidly away. 
1 was struck by the man, and asked my mother, "who 
is thai, ma?" She said it was "Little Turtle," 
the great Indian chief. And here I will extract from 
my discourse on the pioneers, which is founded on the 
best authorities and will give you some idea of one of 
the nio-t remarkable men among the aboriginal races 
of this countiy. There had been four distinguished 
Indian ehiefs in this country, who were the principal 
figures in the confederacies, which at different times 
were formed to suppress the white men, and save 
the Indian race from destruction. These were " Kixg 
Philip," in New England, Pontiac, in the northwest, 
Brandt (iu the Indian tongue, Thayendanega), chief 
of the Mohawks, and Little Turtle, chief of the 
Miami-. Ii is far from the purpose of these "Memories" 
to recite the history of Philip, of Pontiac, or of 
Brandt, bul I saw Little Turtle myself, and his name 
ociated with the early history of the Miami 

; n! ry. W'len the early settlers arrived on the 



Personal Memories. 23 

Muskingum and the Miamis, they found the Indians 
friendly. This was a consequence of the wise policy 
of Putnam and of Symmcs ; for both had, in their 
very first intercourse with the Indians, taken meas- 
ures to conciliate them and show a friendly feeling. 
This friendship was, however, interrupted by the con- 
spiracy which Brandt was then forming. The spirit and 
energy necessary to such an organization were sup- 
plied by the successive defeats of Harmer and St. 
Clair, an account of which you will find in the cur- 
rent history of the day. It was just after these In- 
dian triumphs, and with the high hopes, which victory 
gives, that a conference was held at the mouth of De- 
troit river, between the commissioner of the." United 
States and those of the confederate Indian tribes. 
This was a crisis in the Indian destiny. The orator of 
the Indians was Brandt; and the claim and argument 
set up were at once ingenious and powerful. They 
denied the authority of former treaties, and claimed 
the Ohio as the boundary. They represented them- 
selves as without a country ; that no more lands re- 
mained for them to occupy, and that all they asked 
was the country north of the Ohio, and perpetual 
peace. But the settlements of Marietta and Cincin- 
nati were in the way; and for this, they had a ready 
reply : " We know," said they, " that these settlers are 
poor ; now, offer them the large sums of money which 
you offer us, and they will be glad to return." 

The boundary of the Ohio was refused by the 
American Commissioners, because the couutry of the 
Miamis, the Scioto, and the Muskingum, had already 
been ceded in the treaty of Fort Harmer. The con- 
ference broke up, and with that conference the Indiau 



■j_\ Personal Memories. 






domiuion perished forever. The last hope that even 
a fragmenl of that race could remain perished there. 
The Indians shrieked their warwhoop along the 
frontier, and Wayne sounded his bugles along the 
n|,io. In Cincinnati, the northwestern army assem- 
bled. In was encamped on Millcreek bottom. Its 
sentinels walked on Fifth street Mound, which, stood 
at the foot of the present Mound street, and is now 
gone — demolished by the hand of civilization — but 
was then a remaining monument to races long disap- 
peared, whose history is unknown, and whose very 
existence is becoming rapidly obscured in the mists 
of time. Thus, in the summer of 1793, Wayne drilled 
his troops in all the arts of Indian warfare, and es-' 
pecially in those maneuvers which were suggested by 
Washington himself, and derived from his early ex-- 
perience. The army was wintered on the Stillwater 
Branch of the Miami, and in the spring moved slowly 
forward. It was more than once furiously attacked, 
hut it got to he near the end of August, 1794, before 
the gathered bauds of the Delawares, Miamis, 
Ottawas, Shawnese, and Wyandots were ready for 
their last great battle. Then they descended like the 
northern blast, but only to be broken and dispersed 
forever. The battle of the "Fallen Timber, at the 
Manmee Rapids, was fatal to the Indian power, and 
the victory of Wayne was the last act in the conquest 
ot the northwest. 

'fin- lasl confederacy had been founded by Brandt, 
but the figure which stands out on the historical 
canvast, in bold relief, is that of Mk cue Cunnaqtja, the 
Little Turtle, chief of the Miamis. This most acute 
and Bagacioua of Indian statesmen was, it is said, even 



Personal Memories. 25 

a polished gentleman. He had wit, humor, and intelli- 
gence. He was an extensive traveler and had visited 
all parts of the country, and became acquainted with. 
the most distinguished men. He had seen and ad- 
mired General Washington. He was presented with 
a pair of pistols, by Kosciusko, and the Polish Hero 
told him to use them in defense of his country. He 
was intimate with the French Philosopher, Volney, 
who constructed a vocabulary of the Indian tongue 
from his information. In conversation with Volney, 
the Frenchman told him that the Indians had come 
from the Tartars, in Asia. " But," said Little Turtle, 
" why may not the Tartars have come from America 2 " 
Are there any reasons to the contrary '! 

"Little Turtle" commanded the Indian forces at 
the defeat of Harmer and at the defeat of St. Clair; 
but, though present and lighting bravely at the battle 
of the " Fallen Timber," seems not to have command- 
ed. He advised against the attack, and said to the 
Indians : " We have beaten the enemy twice ; we can 
not expect, always the same good fortune. The Ameri- 
cans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The 
day and the night are alike to him. 1 advise peace. 
When defeat came upo-n him and disaster pressed 
upon his nation, he was still calm, prudent, wise, and 
fearless. He signed the treaty of Greenville with the 
chiefs of ten tribes, and never again appeared on the 
held of battle. A few years after that event, he came 
(as I have related above), to my father's -house, at 
"Ludlow Station," to arrange for the survey of the 
Greenville line. As he rode away from the house, in the 
declining sun, I might, without any violent stretch of 
imagination have seemed to see the last great spirit of 



26 Personal Memories. 






the Indian race leaving the land of his fathers, look- 
. for the last time, upon the beautiful valley of the 
Minn, is, and Lidding farewell to each hill, and wood, 
and stream forever. 

Thirty years after the treaty of Greenville, he died, 
at Fort Wayne, of the gout (/)— which would seem 
a marvellous fact, did we not remember that the 
" Turtle" was a high-liver and a gentleman ; equally 
remarkable was it that his body was borne to the 
grave, with the highest honors, by his great enemy, 
the white man. The muffled drum, the funeral sal 
lute, announced that a great soldier had fallen, and 
even enemies paid their mournful tribute to his mem- 
(.rv. The sun <«f Indian glory set with him ; and the 
clouds and shadows, which for two hundred years had 
gathered round their destiny, now closed in the star-" 
less night of death. 

" Ludlow Station '" belonged to Col. Israel Ludlow. 
[srael Ludlow was one of the proprietors of Cincin- 
nati, and, under Judge Symmes, the purchaser of the 
Miami country, laid out Cincinnati, and was thi 
surveyor of the adjacent country. The original 
proprietors were Denman, Patterson, and Filson 
(a schoolmaster); but, in an exploring expedition, 
Filson was killed, and by a subsequent arrangement, 
Ludlow took his place as one of the proprietors of 
Cincinnati, and also the surveyor of the Symmes purl 
chase. It is not myjpurpose to trace the early history 
of Cincinnati — of which there are now sufficient 
materials — but only those events connected with our 
own family. Suffice it to say, that Col. Ludlow hav- 
ing built " Ludlow Station" — then quite a handsome 
building — died just before my father came to Cincin- 



I 






Personal Memories. 27 

nati. My father rented the place, at what would now 
be a very low price. It had a large apple orchard 
and two gardens — a kitchen and a flower garden. Be- 
fore we loft, Mrs. Ludlow married Mr. Risk, a clergy- 
man, and lived in, or near, Cincinnati for several 
years. Mrs. Risk (Ludlow) came from Chamberburg 
(Pa.), and was of the Chambers family. She was a 
pious, devoted woman, who was thought, by her 
friends, to be a very superior woman. She was the 
grandmother of the third Mrs. Chase, who was a 
daughter of James C Ludlow. Mrs. Risk was an 
occasional visitor at our house, and some of my earliest 
memories are connected with her daughter. Sarah 
Bella Ludlow (now Mrs. McLean) was quite near 
my own age. When they left the "Station" for us, 
the little Sarah gave me, in a keg, a large number 
of duck's eggs, which subsequently proved a great 
amusement. I hatched my eggs under hens, and 
found myself having (I suppose, by selection) a flock 
of seventeen ducks, all of which were white, without 
a dark 'feather. That flock of ducks was my pride 
and delight. One day I was thrown into a great 
fright by a very natural, though, to me, a strange in- 
cident. Wild ducks were very numerous in the creek, 
and my white ducks got to associating with them; so 
one morning the wild ducks took flight into the skies, 
and my ducks with them. I thought they were gone ; 
but after a while, to my delight, they returned. The little 
Sarah Bella was one day at our house with her mother, 
when (as I was recently reminded by Mrs. McLean) 
we undertook to run a race in the porch. She says that 
I outrun her, and my looks expressed triumph ; but, 
seeing her mortified, I expressed sympathy. So it is, 



o$ Personal Memories. 



that the little things of life often make a stronger 
impression than the great ones ; and so is it that the 
little boys and girls are only miniature men and 

women. 

Sarah Bella Ludlow, I can recollect, was then a 
fair-haired, bright-eyed girl, a perfect blonde. She 
grew up to be a very handsome woman, and was as 
brilliant as handsome. She was, as long as I saw 
much of her, one of the most attractive persons in 
6i iciety. She married a young lawyer from Kentucky, 
named Garrard, and had four sons, two of whom 
'Garrards) were generals in the war, and were active 
and gallant soldiers. Being a widow, Mrs. Garrard 
married Judge McLean, of the Supreme Court, and 
for Beveral years accompanied the Judge to Washingj 
ton City, where she always appeared as a charming 
and elegant woman. Again a widow, Mrs. McLean 
has till receutly resided at Fontenac, on Lake Pepin, 
whir.' she and her sons hold a great estate. She is a 
pious and fervent Christian, much devoted to the tenets 
of her own church, believing baptism by immersion- 
an essential point of Christianity. I have thus men- 
tioned Mrs. McLean, not only because she has been a 
distinguished woman, but also because it is not often 
we can testify, at the distance of more than sixty 
years, to those whom we knew in their childhood, and 
have known during an entire generation, of which 
nearly all have passed to the grave. 

I can not stop to describe, even if memory would 
permit, the many brilliant, and some of them after- 
ward greatly distinguished, persons who were either 
membi r- of our family or visitors at Ludlow Station. 
Among others were John Mansfield, a young man of 






Personal Memories. 29 

extraordinary worth and genius; Joseph Totten, who 
afterward became General of Engineers; Dr. Daniel 
Drake, the most distinguished physician of the Ohio 
valley; Judge — afterward Governor — Brown, and 
others of less note, but equally agreeable members of 
the social circle. I was too young to take much note 
of society, but most of them I knew in after life, and 
many I did not know my mother fully described. Of 
most of them I shall speak hereafter. 

Memories so distant must, of course, be faint ; but, it 
seems to me I can yet see Ludlow Station, where I was 
a boy, when no railroad was heard of; when no City of 
the Dead reminded us of generations past ; when the 
wolves' long howl could still be heard ; when the paro- 
tpuet was still seen with his golden wings; when the 
green lawn stretched down from the " Station," lined 
with bending trees. Alas! it is gone; and no hand 
of civilization, with all its art and all its wealth, can 
replace much that is lost. We boast of " progress;" 
we talk of civilization; we really think that we are 
superior, and certainly, if the mechanic arts be the 
test, we are; but there was much in the old pioneer 
society which, to say the least, was more agreeable. 
In proportion to the number of the people, there was 
was more genius then than there is now; society was 
fresh ; men were more honest ; women were more so- 
cial, and fashion did not exercise so much control. On 
the frontier, in a new state of society, there are, of 
course, more adventures, and there was also much 
more speculation upon the course of events. In one 
word, there was more that was new. notwithstanding 
all the mighty doings of telegraph and railroads — I 



30 Personal Memories. 



mean more that was new, in the actual doing of things 
around. 

I will close this chapter in the words of my old 
friend, ( laliagher: - ;: 

"We li\M not hermit lives, but oft in social converse met, 
And fires of love were kindled then that burn on warmly yet. 
< II pleasantly the stream of life pursued its constant flow, 
In the day- when we were pioneers, sixty years ago ! " 

* W. D. Gallagher, poet and editor. 



Personal Memories. 31 



CHAPTER III. 

First Observatory at Ludlow Station — Public Surveys — 
Society in the Country — War o/1812 — Volunteer Com- 
panies — Captain Mansfield — General Totten — Travel- 
ing in 1809 — First View of a Steamboat — Log School 
Bouse — The Hunters — Earthquakes of 1812. 

Ludlow Station adjoins the present Spring Grove 
Cemetery, which is a part of the original Ludlow farm. 
More than thirty years ago, I accompanied a party of 
ladies and gentlemen to view the ground afterward 
selected as the site of the cemetery. In my boyhood, 
I had set quail traps there, but at the time it was se- 
lected for the cemetery it was a grass field with a few 
scattering trees. In the short period which has passed 
since then, it has become populous with the dead. In 
the presence of such a reminiscence, one may say with 
Young 1 — 

" 'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours, 
And ask them what report they've borne to Heaven — 
And how they might have borne more welcome news." 

They might, but who can tell ? We know the road 
we have traveled, but not the road we might have 
gone. Some one has said, it is sad to think what 
might have been true ; but it might have been much 
sadder to have known it. For my own part, I would 
much rather have taken the happiness I've had in the 
path I actually trod, than to have taken a chance of 
more in any other path. Then let the might have 






82 Personal 3Iemorics. 



• >_ 



;, res1 with the unknown. I have said already, 
that my father was appointed by Mr. Jefferson for the 
express purpose of running the meridian lines, on 
which our whole system of public surveys depend. 
The astronomical instruments, whose purchase by Mr. 
Jefferson has been described, were set up in one room 
at our house, at Ludlow Station. Hence, as I have 
often said, the first real observatory was established 
in our house. 1 There my father made such astronom- 
ical calculations as were necesssary to his purpose. 
Besides these, he calculated the orbit of the great 
comet of 1807, an account of which was published in 
the "Proceedings of the Connecticut Academy of 
Arts and Sciences." I was sometimes allowed to look 
through the telescope, and remember to have been 
much pleased at seeing, at noon-day, Jupiter and his 
moons as plainly, and seemingly more beautiful, 
though not so large, as we see our moon with the un- 
assisted eye-sight. While my father was in office, he 

ihlished three of the principal meridians in Ohio 
and Indiana, and by them were surveyed the great 
body of lands to the north and west of Cincinnati. 
In his employment, as deputies, were many young 
men who became afterward the most successful and 
distinguished men of the West. Among these were 
Thomas Worthington, afterward governor and United 
Stat.- senator; Lewis Cass, afterward governor, sen- 
ator, secretary, and embassador, who was one of his 
dci-Us; Ebenezer Buckingham, of Zanesville, subse- 
quently a very wealthy man ; Governor Ethan Allen 
Brown; the Rectors, two of whom were Surveyors- 



m account of Obsen in Harpers' Magazine. 



Personal Memories. 33 

General in the West, and others whose names I do not 
recall. He had, at one time, as many as forty depu- 
ties having contracts for surveys. To the honor of 
himself, as well as his generation, I will mention a 
fact which has seldom its counterpart now. In all the 
settlements of his accounts with the treasury, he was 
never once indebted to the government, but the gov- 
ernment always to him. He expended very largo 
sums of money, and made his settlements with Mr. 
Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Gdla- 
tin was a very exact man, and the correspondence 
with him, which I have looked over, shows much 
more exactness and care in public business than is 
now found. 

Perhaps, I may here mention our mode of living, 
as illustrating the manners and customs of that day. 
The family were not lonely, although occupying a 
solitary country house near the then village of Cin- 
cinnati. At that time, a gentleman's country house 
was a semi-hotel. Taverns were scarce, and it would 
have been a breach of hospitality not to have re- 
ceived and entertained any respectable looking person 
who came along. 

Besides these casual guests, there was a young lady 
with us, who often entertained friends from Cincinnati, 
among whom were two or three gentlemen, afterward 
quite distinguished. My father's office was also the cen- 
ter of a large public business ; so, in fact, we saw a good 
deal of society; the only lonely person Avas myself, 
a boy in the country with no other boy to associate 
with, no school to attend, always with older persons. 
I was not intoxicated with the levities, frivolities, 
and fancies of youthful life. On the contrary, I was, 



34 Personal Memories. 



of necessity, lonely, timid, and abstracted. The im- 
press of that timidity and abstraction remained upon 
my character until 1 had passed the meridian of life. 
Our family was an interesting one, and two or three 
of its members were afterward distinguished in public^ 
lite The young lady, I mentioned, was Miss Harriet 
Sisson, my father's niece and adopted daughter. 
While at Ludlow Station, she married Dr. Daniel 
Drake, a man of genius and science. My father had 
in bis office two nephews, both of whom were pleas- 
ing and even brilliant men. One of these, Captain 
John Fenno Mansfield, was an older brother of Gen. 
Joseph Mansfield, killed at Antietam. Captain John 
V. Mansfield was thought by my parents, who were 
good judges, to be the most promising man they knew. 
He was a man of genius, a student of science, and an 
elegant writer. Some of his articles appeared in 
" The Portfolio" then edited by Joseph Dennie. An- 
ticipating some years following the time of his resi- 
dence with us, I will here give a sketch of his brief 
career. In November, 1811, occurred the battle of 
Tippecanoe, which, although seven months before the 
declaration of it, was, in fact, the- beginning of the 
»nd war with Great Britain. The Indians, under 
the leadership of the " Prophet" and his brother Te- 
cumseh, had f»r a third time formed a confederacy 
under the impression that they could drive the whites 
from the Western Territories. They were assembled 
at the Prophet's town, near the Wabash, where they 
were attacked and defeated by Governor Harrison. 
In ;d! their preparations and in all their subsequent 
COnducl in the war, they were urged on and assisted 
by the British. Of this, there is no doubt, and it is 



Personal Blemories. 85 

one of the facts which ought never to be forgotten by 
those who wish to understand the history of those 
times. It is enough to say, that in the following spring 
— 1812 — the war seemed inevitable. The e;overnment 
ought to have begun its preparations five years before, 
when a wanton attack was made on the frigate Chesa- 
peake. If the reader will look back seventy years, he 
will be astonished at the vast change which has taken 
place in the relations of this country to other nations. 

At that time, British cruisers searched American 
ships and impressed American seamen. What coun- 
try would now venture to search an American ship or 
impress American seamen? Or attack an American 
frigate? Or conspire with American Indians? And 
yet these things were done by Great Britain. What 
country would now venture to confiscate American 
ships and property in foreign harbors ? And yet this 
was done by the Emperor Napoleon, who confiscated 
American ships and tobacco in the harbor of Antwerp. 
This was all ended by the war of 1812-15. It was 
the second war for independence, and the last one. 
Now, all is changed. England paid, because she per- 
mitted privateers to be fitted out against us in the 
Kebellion, fifteen millions of dollars into our treasury. 
France, which had untertaken to put Maximilian on 
the throne of Mexico, retreated speedily, when a dip- 
lomatic note informed her that America tolerated no 
intrusion on her ground. All that is past. This great 
Eepublic is now beyond the interference, the attacks, 
or the insults of any other nation upon earth. 

I rejoice that from 1765 — for that year was the be- 
ginning of the controversy — the American people 
have maintained that controver-y, till they have es- 



36 Personal Memories. 

tablished not only their independence, but their power 
to influence and direct all the future movements of 
mankind. The battle of Tippecanoe occurred, as we 
have said, seven mouths before the declaration of war, 
in 1812, but was, in reality, the beginning of that war. 
In the spring of 1812, the army, which was to be 
commanded by General Hull, began to assemble at 
Cincinnati. Governor Meigs called out the First Di- 
vision of Ohio militia, to meet at Hutchinson's Tav- 
ern, on the Colerain road. This was near our house, 
and I went with my father to the place of meeting. 
The division was drawn out in line, and presented as 
motley an appearance as has ever been seen. Some 
of the men had rifles, but the greater part only sticks 
and cornstalks. As to uniform, there were all kinds 
of apparel, from hunting-shirts to butternut jack- 
ets. There was, however, an exception. Cincinnati 
boasted at that time of two volunteer companies. 
One was a company of light infantry, commanded by 
Captain John Mansfield, of whom I have spoken. 
The other was a company of dragoons, commanded 
by Captain Sloane. These were formed on the right 
and left of the militia line. When the call was made 
for volunteers, it seemed to mc the whole division 
volunteered. At any rate, these two volunteer compa- 
nies were received, and made part of the army of 
Hull. Captain Mansfield entered upon this campaign 
with the zeal and high hopes of a young man, but he 
had not advanced far with the army, on the way to 
Canada, bet',. re he wrote to his uncle, wdiat afterward 
proved the truth of history, that General Hull was an 
imbecile, from whom nothing but disaster could be 
expected. 



Personal Memories. 37 

I need not relate the particulars of that campaign. 
Hull surrendered his army to the British without 
striking a blow, to the disgust and indignation of the 
whole army. Captain Mansfield was surrendered 
with the others. He was released ; but in crossing 
Lake Erie took a fever. lie had barely strength 
enough to return to Cincinnati, and died at the house 
of his friend, Ethan Stone, Esq., not of fever alone, 
but of a broken heart. Another member of our fam- 
ily circle was Joseph Gilbert Totten, my father's 
nephew, and one of his clerks. He was then about 
eighteen years of age, a genial, pleasant, and popular 
person. I will here make a brief mention of his life. 
At my father's instance, he was appointed a cadet at 
"West Point. From there he was appointed Lieuten- 
ant of Engineers, and stationed at New Haven, build- 
ing: the fort at the mouth of the harbor. When the 
war of 1812-1815 came on, he was sent to the Niagara 
frontier. He was in the battle of Queenstown 
Heights, and was distinguished and promoted. The 
year after the war he married Catalina Pearson. The 
marriage was a singular one. Miss Pearson's father 
having objected, solely because Totten was an officer 
of the army, the lovers ran away, and were married 
at the house of a friend. They came immediately to 
our house at West Point, and my father approved 
their conduct, and received them cordially. Totten 
was continually promoted until he became Chief of 
the Engineer Corps. He accompanied General Scott 
to Mexico, and superintended the siege of Vera Cruz. 
When the war of the Rebellion came on, he was one 
of the chief men who, with General Scott, devised 
the mode and means by which the war was to be con- 



38 Pi rsonal Memories. 



ducted. One of the modes, and the most important 
one, was to seize the Mississippi river, open commimi 
cation with New Orleans, and cut off Rebel commnni 
cation. In the beginning of the war the Mississippi 
was the axis of the operations of the Rebels. They 
seized, armed, and garrisoned evciy defensible point 
on the Mississippi from Columbus, Kentucky, to New 
Orleans. The first step necessary to the success of thej 
government was to seize this river. It was the plan 
of General Scott and of General Totten to seize and. 
use the steamboats, build gunboats, and do exactly 
what was done when Admiral Foote and General 
Granl captured Fort Donaldson, and in 18G3 captured 
Vicksburg. It was not until this was done that suc- 
- in the Fast was possible, and the military critic 
of the future will recognize this fact as the element 
necessary to the success of the government. At the 
close of the war General Totten died, and on the very 
day of his death was honored by being brevetted Ma4 
jor-General in the army, for in the Engineer Corps 
there is no higher rank than that of Brigadier. No 
better, braver, or more patriotic officer served in the 
American army than General Joseph G. Totten. The 
reader will now understand that our family at Ludlow' 
Station was an interesting one. My cousin, afterward 
Mrs. Drake, Captain Mansfield, and the subsequent 
General Totten, were persons who would have been 
respected and admired in any cultivated society. I 
They owed something of their geniality and success ! 
to ray mother. No one ever associated with her with- 
out feeling the magnetic power of a superior mind. She 
\\a-< the perceptible influence which guided the course 
oi several young men who became, in time, among 



Personal Memories. 89 

the first in the first rank of their country. But I will 
return to my narrative. We lived at Ludlow Station 
from October, 1805, to June, 1809, nearly four years. 
They were years of interest to me, although, except 
my memory of pioneer life and of my interesting 
cousins, there was really nothing which made them 
of special after value to my life. I went to no school, 
and have no memory of any sort of education, even 
of my mother. One event in natural events I well 
remember. In January, 1807, two men were frozen 
to death on the Hamilton Road. Nothing is more 
common than remarks about "This season being very 
hot," or " This winter being very cold ;" but, in the 
course of half a century, all seasons average as in cen- 
turies before. The world may be frozen to death, or 
wasted to death, but in my time the seasons have 
averaged just the same as in periods long ago. The 
Scripture tells us that the earth will bo burnt with 
"fervent heat." I believe it, for the fires in the inte- 
rior of the earth are far superior to the ice storm, 
coming down from the north, which we all dread. 

My father always had a longing for the land of his 
birth. He had now been six years in the West, and 
longed to see his kindred, and to walk under the shad- 
ows of old Yale, where he graduated. Accordingly, 
in the summer of 1809, we paid a visit to bis friends 
and relatives in the East. I was too young to pay 
much attention to the journey; but some of its inci- 
dents were remarkable. 

In 1807, the first steamboat in this country, and, I 
believe, in the world, was launched in New York, 
called, I think, " The North River." Two years after, 
when we arrived in New York, the third steamboat, 



40 Personal Memories. 



called the " Paragon," had been built. Except these j 
three steamboats, there was no other means of steam 
locomotion in the country. When we arrived at what 
is now called Jersey City— then a solitary tavern— 
the question was, how was the river to he crossed? 
There was no bridge, no ferryboat, as we now under- 
stand a ferryboat, but there was a little schooner 
called a Pirogue. On this we had to carry our 
horses, carriage, baggage, and ourselves. The wind 
was high, and there were two frightened people— my 
mother and myself — but this ridiculous little craft 
carried us safely across, and we were landed in New 
York. One of the first things my father did in New 
Fork was to take my mother ami myself to see the 
little steamer "Paragon." He knew that the inven- 
tion »>f the steamboat was one of the great events in 
the world's history, and, therefore, he wanted to see a 
steamboat. The " Paragon ' ; lay aside one of the 
dorks, and looked about the size of a small schooner, 
but with neither masts nor sails. She was painted 
yellow, and her machinery and cabin were both below 
deck. In these days she would be counted one of the 
tugs now used to tow ships into New York Harbor. 
It was twenty years after this, when my father lived 
at West Point, that steamboats began to take the 
form and magnitude they now have. It was thirty 
years after 1 saw the '-Paragon'' that the oceau 
Bteamers began to cross the Atlantic. The introduc- 
tion of -team as a locomotive power was the most 
important event in the mechanical progress of the 
two thousand years. We had in New York, in 
L807 r the little beginnings of steam navigation, and 
now steamships and steamboats are in all, or nearly 



Personal Memories. 41 

all, the countries of the world. This is a revolution 
greater than any previous generation had seen. The 
crossing of the Jersey ferry in a schooner and the 
seeing of the " Paragon" were striking events. 

The active memories of men are made up of strong 
impressions. All that we seem to remember of our 
youth are these vivid impressions of things which 
startled or surprised us at the time of their occurrence. 
But, have we really lost any impression ? Are they 
not all like faded pictures of whose colors only the 
bright ones seem to remain? If our souls survive, will 
not every event, thought, and impression survive also 
in the ages to come? We remained in New Haven 
two or three months, and on our return passed through 
Philadelphia. There, my father took me to the book- 
store of Matthew Carey, an old friend and a noted 
man in his day. Here, my father gave me my first li- 
brary, about twenty little volumes. Of these, I remem- 
ber only two, one was Mease's United States, and the 
other the " London Cries." 

Both had plates and struck my fancy as wonderful 
books. Before the warm season was past, and while 
the sun still illuminated the splendid forest scenery, 
we returned to Ohio. 

On going East, my father had given up Ludlow 
Station, and, on returning to Ohio, rented a house 
called Bates' place, two miles nearer Cincinnati, and 
now within the city limits. In after years it was 
called Mt. Comfort, b it these names are now forgot- 
ten. We rented the place of Colonel Isaac Bates, who 
had been a teamster in Wayne's army. It was a com- 
fortable two-story brick house, with a lawn and gar- 
den, and answered our purpose very well. At this 



42 Personal Memories. 



time, oar family was not so large as at Ludlow Sta 

tioii. 

Tottcn had gone to the army, John Mansfield livecj 
in town, and, I believe, his sister, Mary Mansfield, was 
the only one living with us. She was married while 
living with us at Bates' place, and became Mrs. David 
Wade; her husband was a lawyer and prosecuting 
attorney in Cincinnati. Mrs. Col. Kennett and Mrs. 
Dr. White are her daughters. She took considerable 
care of me, and even now I seem to hear her sweet 
voice singing " Highland Mary." She died some years 
after this, when I was in the East. She was one of 
the first of those — now many — whose name and mem] 
ory come to me from the spirit land. 

We were established at Bates' place in 1809, in the 
autumn, and remained there three years. It was an 
event t'ul period to me, and a remarkable one in the 
history of the Western country. I was then eight 
years old, and this is the first period at which I can 
remember receiving anything that can be called edu- 
cation. In 1810, in the spring, my father gave me a 
slate and pencil, and taught me the elementary rules 
of arithmetic. My mother had taught me to read, 
and the first line I ever read was in Webster's spelling 
book, and was: "Xo man may put off the law of 
( io.l.** My particular admiration in the spelling-hook 
was the picture of the man who pretended to be dead 
when the bear smelled him, and the old man who 
called the boys down from the apple-tree, and when 
they laughed at him lor throwing grass, pelted them 
with stones. There was one thing my mother was 
wry particular about and the effect of her care re- 
mains to-day, tliis was spelling, bhe drilled me in 



Personal Memories. 43 



that, and, I believe, I have never misspelled a word 
through ignorance. I give a little incident in regard 
to this fact, characteristic of the day. It was in 1811, 
that I received two quarters' schooling — all that I re- 
ceived prior to 1813. It was in a log school house, 
nearly opposite the House of Refuge ; at the close of 
the quarter in July, there was a spelling battle, in 
which I came off head of the school. We were then 
formed in a column and marched to a tavern near the 
present House of Refuge; there, the schoolmaster 
treated us to cherry bounce ; it was very strong and 
made my head reel, but my mother, I think, never 
knew anything of this, and, I may add, would assuredly 
disapproA^ed of it if she had. It was in 1810,'thatl read 
the first book I can remember, besides my school books. 
This was a sort of pamphlet Life of Napoleon Bona- 
parte ; it closed with the battle of Wagram, fought 
in 1809. I was enamored with this book, and fired 
with military fervor, which lasted for several years. 
I have already mentioned the books my father bought 
for me at Matthew Carey's, and that one of them was 
called " The London Cries," and, I believe, no book 
pleased me better than that ; it had much better pa- 
per, print, and plates, than children's books have now- 
a-days. Each "cry," for example, as "Hot Buns," 
had a good wood-cut, and I delighted in it. Another 
book was " Mease's United States ; " this also had 
wood-cuts, among: them one of the ; ' Bridge over the 
Delaware" — in those days considered a line affair; 
one also of the Indians huntinsr Bison, and one of the 
Natural Bridge in Virginia. All these struck my 
fancy, and books of this kind are the right sort for 
boys. 



44 Personal Memories. 



Before our return to the East, my stock of reading 
was, however, small. Our life at Bates' place was 
quiet, but several incidents, new and striking to a boy, 
nrred. I had my hens, ducks, and quail-traps, and 
made many observations on nature. My two quarters 
: ,t the log school house did something towards break- 
in- up the loneliness of my life. I saw several things 
which can not be seen except in a pioneer region. 
Looking, from our house, down the Hamilton Road 
to Cincinnati, I saw a herd of deer, apparently driven 
up the road by a hunter and dog. They came along 
very quietly, until a white-topped wagon passed our 
house, when, they started and fled, jumping the high- 
esl fences. The hunter dropped his rifle to his shoul- 
der, and killed a fat buck opposite our house. An- 
other day, I saw a singular sight, This was a vast 
army of squirrels, gathered, probably from want of 
food, in a large corn field below the house. They 
covered t he fences in every direction, devoured the corn, 
and disappeared. At another time in a meadow below, 
I saw that curious phenomenon, the army worm. There 
were millions of them, and they moved in a line 
aero— the breadth of the field and cut down every 
blade of grass. The farmers destroyed them, by go- 
in- a considerable distance ahead, and, with spades 
and hoes, digging a Trench, into which they fell and 
could not get out. From these incidents, the reader 
will see how very different the scenes of country life 
were then, from what they are now. We were really 
mi the frontier, my father and his surveyors, being in 
tin- wilderness where is now the most populous por- 
tion of Indiana. 

My father's business varied little, although the 



Personal Memories. 45 

scenes of house and family had changed much. He 
was pursuing- intently the business he was employed 
to do. His surveyors were out through Northwest- 
ern Ohio and Indiana, while he, himself, was record- 
ing the work, and making astronomical observations. 
In the midst of this work an event occurred which 
was memorable then, and hardly less so now. -On 
the night of the 16th of December, 1811, Cousin 
Mary and I were waked up by a rattling which we 
supposed to be rats, but which proved to be the 
handles of a trunk. In a moment we found the room 
was shaking, and sprang up frightened. Then we 
heard my father's voice calling us. We rushed down 
stairs, and, with the whole family, ran into the yard. 
While we ran out the bricks were falling from the 
roof of the house, the chimney having been shaken 
down. There was a light snow on the ground, and 
a carriage in the yard. My mother and little sister 
took refuge in the carriage, and my father went back 
to the house, saying there was more danger of rheu- 
matism than of the house falling. In Cincinnati, the 
Columbian Inn, at the corner of Main and Columbia 
streets, was the principal house of entertainment, 
where some of the first young men and ladies 
hoarded. It is said, that on that night the street in 
front of the Columbian Inn presented a strong con- 
trast to all the ordinary rules of propriety; in fact, 
there was more of nature displayed than of fashion. 
The presence of a great danger breaks down all con- 
ventional rules, and perhaps there is nothing better 
than a great danger to show Avhat an artificial thing 
is civilized life. A great danger is the preaching of a 
great sermon. The earthquake of December 16, 1811, 



46 Personal Memories. 



was the first of a series of earthquakes, which eon- ; 
tinued about live months. My father, in order to test 
the state of things, put a very delicate pendulum in- 
side of one of our trout windows, and that pendulum 
never ceased to vibrate in nearly five months. In the 
meanwhile there were, in January and February, sev- 
eral violent shocks. It was May, 1812, before these 
earthquakes really ceased. The center of them was, 
I think, at Caraceas, South America. A peculiarity 
attended them which lias, perhaps, not followed 
other earthquakes. They seem to have had not 
only a center, but an axis, which caused a reac- 
tion or agitation at a great distance. The center of 
the agitation in the Mississippi valley was at, or near, 
New Madrid, Missouri. There the Mississippi over- 
flowed, the earth was broken up in some places, and 
small lakes formed, which are there to this day. 
Some years since I happened to meet a gentleman 
who, at the time of the earthquake, was on the Mis- 
sissippi in a keelboat. He described the fearful rush- 
ing and high waves of the river. 

The marks of that fearful catastrophe remain on 
the face of the earth. When we remember what 
greal and sudden changes were thus made in a brief 
time, it surprises us to hear geologists talk of the ages 
on ages which, in their imagination, it took to pro- 
duce certain changes. 

At our house the earthquake gave rise to a sort of 
new life. Our family was. of course, much alarmed, 
ami some of the gentlemen in town would ride out 
and spend the night with us. In this way we saw a 
"1 deal of company, and had, in some respects, a 
pleasanl time. Among those who came was Colonel 



Personal Memories. 47 

MeKenna, "who was, I think, the same man that 
thirty years ago was united with Judge Hall in pre- 
paring an Indian biography, a very valuable work. 
MeKenna had been much among the Indians, and re- 
lated many tales and anecdotes of them. So, by way 
of cheering us and amusing our minds, he told us the 
most awful stories of Indian fights and massacres. 
There must have been some truth in his narratives, 
for he showed us his wrist and arm, which had been 
injured by bullets in an Indian fight. According to 
him, "Othello" himself had not met with so many 
hair-breadth escapes, and the romance of history did 
not contain such a romance of the border war with 
the Indians. There are, indeed, several books of anec- 
dotes and of pioneer life which are full of adventures 
with and escapes from the Indians. 

In this manner the winter passed. Severe shocks 
of earthquake occurred frequently. I remember one 
happening in the morning, when I was at a neighbor- 
ing log-house. There was corn on the upper floor, and 
I heard that corn roll from one side of the house to the 
other. As I have said, these shocks did not cease until 
May. At that time we were preparing to go to the East, 
and the government making ready its troops for the 
march on Canada. Among the troops who went was 
the then famous Fourth Regiment of infantry, which, 
at the battle of Tippecanoe, had made the chief part 
of the army. The last scene I recall at Bates' place, 
was the Fourth Regiment marching by our house on 
a bright May morning. All then seemed hopeful and 
bright; but nothing could have exceeded the sense of 
shame and disgrace felt in the country when that gal- 
lant regiment was, with Hull's army, surrendered to 
the British. 



48 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Journey to the East— The Wagoners— The Women of 
Stonington— Capture of the Macedonian — New Ha- 
r , „ _ Bishop —Dr. Dwight—Noah Webster — Cap- 
tain Poicell— Libraries— My Studies— West Point- 
No Text-Books— Cheshire Teaching— Governor Footc. 

My father had now fulfilled his office as survcyor- 
general, and was about to return to West Point, as 
professor of philosophy and astronomy. In the be- 
ginning of 1812, Congress had reorganized the mili- 
tary academy, as a preparation for war. The pro- 
fessorship <>f philosophy and astronomy was given the 
lank and pay of a lieutenant-colonel, in accordance 
with the rank my lather then held in the engineer 
cups. We began our journey to West Point in the 
beginning of June. A'o declaration of war had then 
been made, but troops were assembling and marching 
to the northern. frontier. One day we stopped at Dr. 
Drake's house, on our way east. It was a memorable 
day in Cincinnati, for on that day occurred the severest 
tornado I have ever experienced. It blew down a new 
brick school-house and some smaller buildings. I was 
looking « -Hi of a window when 1 saw the roof of the 
Sargenl house blown off like a piece of paper. This 
bouse stood uear the center of the square, north of 
reet. and < ' Broadway, on what is now 

called McAllester street. It was, as far as I can recol- 
lect, the only bouse standing in that part of the city at 



Personal Memories. 49 

that time. We left Dr. Drake's next day, and in tra- 
versing the country found large oak trees torn up by 
the roots, and thrown across the roads. Here I may 
mention, as a characteristic of the times, our prepara- 
tions for this journey. There was then no stage or public 
conveyance west of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It would 
have taken a long time, and have been a tedious jour- 
ney, even had it been possible to go up the river by 
keel-boats. So my father was compelled to bny his 
own carriage and horses, take a driver, and go on 
the wagon-roads. He put in the carriage-box 
pistols, ax, and ropes, for they might have been 
needed at any time. We journeyed in the midst of 
the war excitement, and were ahead of the mails, so 
that at every village we were questioned about the news. 
I remember that when we arrived at Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania, a small crowd gathered about the tavern 
to hear the news. I went out and told them about the 
battle of Tippecanoe, of the march of Hull's army, and 
our certain conquest of Canada. In fine, I was a poli- 
tical orator, and had I kept on in that line, who can 
tell to what eminence I might have arrived. In fact 
our arrival at Chambersburg created a sensation, and 
we passed along with something of the eclat of a cara- 
van. I remember little else until we crossed the Swa- 
tara, a large stream in Eastern Pennsjdvania. There 
had been heavy rains, and the river was high, but I 
was riding a fine horse, and plunged in the water, to 
the great consternation of my father, who was in the 
carriage. However, I, as well as the carriage, crossed 
the river in safety. I must here state a fact, which 
will illustrate the changes in the mode of traveling 
and the condition of the country. At that time the 



50 Personal Memories. 



only tolerable roads were the Pennsylvania turnpikes, 
and we went over one of these from Pittsburg east. 
This was the great highway of the Philadelphia 
wagons, which carried all the merchandise from 
Philadelphia west. These wagons were called the 
•• ( lonnestoga Teams." They had long bodies, covered 
with sail-cloth, stretched on hoops, and carried two or 
three tons each. They were drawn by six horses, of the 
strongesl and largest breed. The front pair had bells 
«.ii their necks, and the wagoners who drove them had 
great pride in their teams. Reade has described these 
in. -ii in his " Wild Wagoner of the Alleghenies." He 
was describing that wagoner as far superior and bolder 
than most of them, yet the scenes he represented did 
often occur. 

"On many a dangerous mountain track, 
While oft the tempest burst its wrack, 
While lightning, like his mad whip lash, 
Whistled round the team its crooked flash, 
And horses scared in fiery flight, 
While near them burst the thunder crash, 
Then heard the gale his voice of might. 

" And oft on many a wintry hill, 
He dashed from out the vale below, 
And headed \\\< way through drifts of snow, 
While all his wheels with voices shriek, 
Shrieked to the frosty air afar." 

While these men were very useful in their day, they 
were al times very disagreeable. Quite naturally they 
were jealous of carriages, and gentlemen whom they 
thoughl assumed tobeabove them. On two occasions, 
when we were stopping for the night, they took the 
lynch-pin6 fromour carriage, and we might have had a 



Personal Memories. 51 



severe accident, but for a gentleman who was riding on 
horseback with us. Another thing in the then mode 
of traveling was as peculiar as the Connestoga wagons. 
That was the " tavern," as it was then called, which 
was found at certain stations, which the traveler was 
obliged to reach at certain hours, or else his accommo- 
dation was very poor. These taverns had special 
names, such as " The Black Horse," and " The General 
Wayne," "The Ship," "The Paoli," etc., and were 
noted throughout the country. Come what might, it 
was necessary for a traveler, in a private carriage, to 
reach one of these places at night, for it was hardly 
safe, much less comfortable, to lodge elsewhere. So 
even though we rode late into the evening, my father 
managed to reach one of these taverns at night. I 
need not say more of this journey. It took us thirty 
days, traveling in our own carriage, from Cincinnati 
to New Haven, where we arrived m July, 1812. The 
war had then begun, and the United States coasts, 
especially seaports, were lined with British cruisers. 
My father was then an officer of engineers, and was 
detained by the government, at New Haven, on military 
service, and subsequently by severe illness. In order 
not to interrupt the narrative, I will here state what 
relates to our residence in New Haven. My father 
was ordered to New London and Stonington to super- 
intend fortifications. For some inscrutable reason, cer- 
tainly not a military one, the British had an inclina- 
tion to attack these places. Had they taken and re- 
tained both, it would have been of no military use. 
Accordingly the British squadron, of which the frigate 
Macedonian was one, attacked Stonington by bombard- 
ing it, and that gave rise to a story, which was one of 



52 Personal Memories. 



the hisl orical incidents of that day. On shore, at Ston- 
ington, three or four pieces of artillery returned the 
British fire; as the local militia were extemporized for 
the occasion, they were not well provided with am- 
munition, bo, after firing awhile, they were out of wad- 
ding fi >r 1 he guns. At this point a Stoniiigton woman 
deliberately took off her petticoats, to make waddingfor 
1 lh- guns ! It was not long after this that the British 
cruiser Macedonian was captured by the frigate United 
Stales, and in Few Haven we had the pleasure of hear- 
ing the hand of the Macedonian, giving us fine music, 
a- prisoners of war. On my father's return from New 
London, we moved into a house in New Haven, on the 
s< 1 1 ia iv where I had been horn, directly opposite the 
present railroad depot. It was on the southeast corner 
of State and Chapel streets, New Haven. The house was 
probably buill more than two hundred years ago. -The 
front door and windows were carved and ornamented as 

no w twork is nowadays. The window-panes were 

diamond-shaped, set in with lead. The present style 
of architecture tends to more simplicity of ornament, 
hut the taste of the day is toward extravagance in 
furniture. Of the two, the old style was the best. 
Few things can he more absurd than to make a house 
a storeroom for furniture, which adds nothing to real 
comfort and is a positive extravagance. If the simple 
Greek architecture were adopted on the one hand, 
ami handsome hut simple furniture in the interior, it 
would be more consistent with common sense than 
either the customs of our ancestors or ourselves. But 
the -world is given to fashion and is slow to learn. In 
the autumn of \^\1 we moved into our house, on the 
old Man-field square, and remained there for nearly 



Personal Memories. 53 



two years. In the meanwhile my father was visited 
by several distinguished men, and events happened 
which may be interesting to record. In 1812-1813, 
politics were much the same as regards human nature 
as to-day. The post-office in New Haven became va- 
cant, and as my father was known to be in the confi- 
dence of the administration, his influence was sought 
by all the applicants. He at last recommended Jones, 
and Jones was appointed. During my father's illness, 
Abraham Bishop, collector of New Haven, called upon 
him. I think he was the very man to whom Jefferson 
addressed his celebrated letter on appointments; at 
least he was the occasion of it. Jefferson had ap- 
pointed some Democrats to office; among others, 
Bishop. The Federalists complained about removals. 
Jefferson replied in a short letter, stating his reason 
for removals : " That of Federal officers, few die, and 
none resign." In these days it would be unnecessary 
to give any reason, for rotation in office has become 
an established principle of all political parties. Bishop 
was in some respects a remarkable man. He was a 
man to suit Jefferson, for he was a free-thinker of the 
most liberal school, and so were many of the men 
whom Jefferson brought into office. Bishop had fine 
"talents of a certain order. He was a wit and an ora- 
tor. My mother considered him the best speaker of 
that time. His wit was sharp and fine compared with 
the coarse humor now so common. I remember one 
of his witticisms which had a good deal of point. 
Noah Webster's garden joined that of my grandfather. 
Noah Webster was not only the author of the first 
spelling-book I studied, but of the great dictionary 
which all have learned to reverence ; in other words, 



54 Personal Memories. 



Noah Webster was a learned man. Bishop, who had 
great respect for him, said : " Noah Webster's head is 
like a vandue master's (auctioneer's) shop— full of other 
nun's goods" Another man who called on my father 
in his sickness at New Haven has since been world- 
renowned. This was the celebrated Dr. Dwight, Pres- 
ident of Yale College. Few men had more talent or 
used it better than Timothy Dwight. He was tutor, 
professor, and president of Yale College for many 
years, and impressed himself wonderfully upon the 
students. While president of the College he made the 
tour of New England, and published his observations 
in a book of travels. It was full of acute comments 
on the customs and institutions of our country. In 
that book he was, I think, the first to remark what 
De Tocqueville subsequently put in his book, that the 
townships of New England, or, in other words, its 
rural municipalities, were the schools in which our 
American people had learned the true principles of 
self-government. It was in this school of political 
self-instruction they had learned to conduct safely and 
intelligently the government of the republic. While 
Professor of Divinity in Yale College, Dr. Dwight de- 
Livered the course of sermons which he afterward em- 
bodied in his system of theology, and which continues, 
both in Europe and America, to be a standard work 
in the school of Calvinistic divinity. It is the most 
complete work of popular theology now extant. I 
have read a large part of it, and was delighted with it 
considered only as a literary work. I never heard Dr. 
lhvight preach, hut my mother said he was the best 
preacher she had ever heard. I recollect well Dr. 
Dwight's appearance when he sat and talked with my 



Personal Memories. 55 

atlier. He was a man of medium height, with a full 
otimd body, dark hair and eyes, wearing — as was 
hen the custom — the hair combed back in a queue 
•ehind. He was dressed entirely in black, and had a 
ery dignified appearance. In fact, Dr. Dwight, 
hough not of commanding height, was of commandi- 
ng appearance. I should judge from his conversation 
nth my father that he was — and such was his charac- 
er — a genial and pleasant man. He and my father 
pere in politics and theology of opposite opinions, but 
srere on that account none the less friendly. The re- 
public of letters and of science is the only free republic 
—the only one where men are measured by their mer- 
ts. Another man who called at our house during that 
ime was the very opposite of Dr. Dwight. Probably 
ho reader has never heard of him, but he was a char- 
acter worth mentioning. He was an Englishman and 
m auctioneer, called Captain Powell. I have reason 
o remember him, as I do, with kindness and respect; 
or he lent me books which I could not have obtained 
slsewhere, and which ministered both to my informa- 
ion and my love of reading. One of these books was 
he " Gentleman's Magazine," which I pored over with 
nore avidity than I have since done over the most im- 
>ortant and interesting works. I said he was the op- 
posite of Dr. Dwight. He was a free and easy liver, 
ook snuff, and most unfortunately was quite inteni- 
>erate. The habit of intemperance at last brought 
rim to the poor-house, but not to that degradation, 
either of position or character, which now attends the 
nmates of poor-houses. He had been the associate 
)f gentlemen, and continued to be so when in the 
>oor-house. Mr. Bishop and other gentlemen used to 



5G Personal Memories. 

supply him with the best of clothes, and he went 
pound visiting as he pleased. It happened that while 
be was in the poor-house, the descendants of some of 
the first merchants of New Haven were also there. 
( Japtain Powell was asked if he did not feel the 
want of society. "Oh! no," he replied. "I enjoy 
there the society of the best families of New Ha- 
ven." Many years after, my mother and I were, at 
the time of my father's death, at the Tontine Coffee- 
house, New Haven. Captain Powell called on my 
mother. lie was well dressed, and took snuff as usual. 
My mother was about to go out in a carriage, and 
Captain Powell gracefully handed her in; then he 
bowed low, and said: " Madam, we must not forget 
our politeness, though we are in the poor-house." I 
always thought it one of the finest sayings I ever 
heard. I think of Captain Powell as Johnson did of 
some of his London companions, whose names would 
never have been heard of but for Johnson — as of those 
who have contributed to the common stock of harmless 
amusements. Tome he furnished more than amusement, 
lie lent me books which excited my literary taste, and 
helped to form the habit of reading and study which 
has been the comfort and solace of my life. If you 
would see this idea expressed as I feel it, but far more 
truthfully than any modern author has given it, look 
to this paragraph of Cicero's oration for the poet 
A rchias : 

"A1 baec studia adolescentiam alunt, senectutem 
oblectant, secundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac 
solarium praebenl : delectant domi, non impediunt 
foris, pernoctanl nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur." 
— These studies employ youth, delight old age, adorn 



Personal Memories. 57 

prosperity, afford a refuge and a solace in adversity ; 
please at home, do not impede in the forum, go with 
us through the night — travel with us, and are with us 
in the country ! Such are the pleasures of literature, 
portrayed by the most eminent of its disciples. 

In New Haven, I had some literary advantages, 
which for a boy were uncommon. My father's cousin, 
Colonel Lyon, who was cashier of a bank, had a liter- 
ary and antiquarian taste. He had a large and rare 
library, and lent me books to read. No one directed 
my reading, and the books I selected were certainly 
curious for a boy. I looked over the "Politinus 31er- 
curius," published in Cromwell's time ; read some of 
Rapin's History of England, and the " Life and Cam- 
paigns of Frederick the Greed." I had also access to 
the New Haven library, and from that procured sev- 
eral books of modern literature. In fact, my tastes 
then, as they have been ever since, were decidedly of 
a literary turn. In New Haven, as I believe I have 
mentioned, I had two quarters' schooling, one in what 
would now be called a common school, and the other 
in a select classical school. In the first school I learned 
nothing, unless it were to draw ships and pictures on 
a slate. In the second I learned considerable Latin, 
and became acquainted with the nicest boys in New 
Haven. One of them was Theodore AVolsey, afterward 
President of Yale College ; another was Alexander 
Twining, afterward a distinguished engineer ; another 
Henry White, a lawyer, and most excellent man. 
Thus my two years' residence in New Haven became 
a very important period of my educational life. My 
taste for reading was acquired. The books I read 
were instructive, and I first learned to think. In the 



58 Personal Memories. 



Bpring of 1814, my father had recovered from his se- 
vere illness, and his military duties in Connecticut were 
over, lie therefore proceeded to West Point to enter 
upon his duties as professor of natural and experi- 
mental philosophy. 1 have already said that in 1812 
Congress had reconstructed the military academy, and 
instituted this professorship for my father. Accord- 
ingly we went to West Point, But how? In a steam- 
boat, rail car, or stage? In neither; but in a sloop. 
Family and furniture were all embarked in a sloop at 
New Haven, and proceeded down the sound and up the 
Hudson. There were at that time only two or three 
steamboats on the Hudson, and they were very ex- 
pensive. Sloops and schooners were the common 
means of conveyance in those days, and my father 
chartered a sloop for that purpose. The weather was 
line, hut, unfortunately for sailing vessels, calm; so 
that Ave were three or four days in going from New 
Haven to West Point, a distance of one hundred and 
fifty miles. Five hours is now the time of easy transit 
between those points. I well remember how impatient 
1 was when the sloop ha rely moved through the water, 
and Hooked upon the palisades, which, like the Giant's 
Causeway of Ireland, form one of the curiosities of the 
geological world. They are granite columns, looking 
as though artificially put up. Young America did not 
know thai there 1 was a time coming when the most 
vivid imagination of what he wished and what was de- 
sirahle would come to pass. So he was very impatient, 
and had a righl to he; lop he could have walked from 
X. w York to West Point in less time than it took that 
sloop to go there. When we arrived, there was a 
curious exhibition of wi\ tape and of human nature. 



Personal Memories. 59 

At a military post, quarters must be assigned with 
exact reference to the officer's rank. There were not 
a sufficient number of houses at West Point for the 
professors and officers, so my father Avas assigned half 
of a large double house, which he had had twelve years 
before, but which was now occupied by Surgeon Walsh. 
The consequence was, that on the arrival of my father, 
that gentleman was in a violent rage, because he had 
to give up half the house. War was declared, but 
there was no help for the affair, and Walsh had too 
much sense to perpetuate the squabble. In fact, the 
storm ended in a quiet, peaceful friendship between 
the families. It seemed like realizing the Irish saying, 
that the best way to make friends is a knock-down 
fight ; but I should not recommend a quarrel as the 
best way of forming a permanent friendship. It Avas 
in this old yelloAV house, looking up the Hudson, Avhich 
he had occupied in 1802, and iioav again in 1814, that 
my father taught the first class in philosophy and me- 
chanics Avhich was eA T er tauffht at West Point. This 
class consisted of nYe young men, Avho recited in our 
parlor, because there Avas at that time no suitable reci- 
tation room for them, aud Avhose text-book Avas En- 
field's Philosophy. Here I will say that the first great 
difficulty encountered at West Point Avas the lack of 
proper text-books. In the pursuit of these by the 
professors at West Point, has been gradually brought 
out that immense series of text-books which iioav make 
so large and profitable a publication business in this 
country. Except Noah Webster and his spelling-book, 
the most successful writer of scientific text-books Avas 
Professor Charles Davies, of West Point, who began 
his mathematical series more than forty years ago. 



60 Personal Memories. 



At that time there was not in the United States a sin- 
gle good text-book on algebra, geometry, or descriptive 
ge< >me1 ry, much less on mechanics and philosophy. Inj 
one word, the United States, being a new country and 
a new nation, had none of those routine methods and 
facilities which are in an old country the result of 
time, and which have since been developed in the 
United States. I may say further, that the English 
had really no good text-books, but the models for thesel 
were furnished by the French. The half century which ? 
is just passed has been fertile, not merely in the meth-'l 
ods of steam locomotion, but also in all those expedi-1 
ents of civilization, which are not so great and impor- * 
tant in themselves as in the fact that they are evidences ' 
of the ingenuity ami fertility of man in devising .1 
sr hemes for his own accommodation. 

Here I will revert to an episode in my own life. "While 1 
my lather was beginning his professional career at 
Wes1 Point, I was sent to an Episcopal academy at 
Cheshirej Connecticut. The purpose was that I should | 
learn Latin, preparatory to entering college. My brief 
stay at Cheshire can soon be told, and it is of no espec-' 
ial importance, save in tracing out my own life. M\ f 
lather introduced me to Squire Beach, who was his 1 1 
cousin on his mother's side. One of her brothers was | 
rector of St. Paul's church, New York, and my father'* 
family were Episcopalians. The principal of the acad- 
emy at Cheshire was Dr. Bronson, and I boarded at 
the house of Mr. Cromwell, another Episcopal clergy- 
man. Dr. Bronsou was a good-natured, smiling olej 
gentleman, who invited me once or twice to make hay 
in hi- yard, hut who seemed to care very little whethei 
the boye Learned anything or not, Mr. Cromwell waf 



Personal Memories. 61 

somewhat more strict, but the whole affair was rather 
official than either useful or real. I learned little, but 
Cheshire had three attractions for me, which, if they 
did not advance my education or elevate my thoughts, 
perhaps did me quite as much good. First, Cheshire 
had a town library, and, like most town libraries, was 
chiefly composed of novels. In the second place, it 
being summer time, Cheshire abounded in blackberries 
and whortleberries. There was a little stream in town, 
with some good land near it, but away from that the 
hills and slopes produced little but rock and sand. It 
was a glorious place for blackberries, and gloriously 
did we enjoy it ! For every new Latin word I learned 
I obtained at least a quart of blackberries, but the chief 
thing I had was exercise and pleasure. Lastly, Cheshire 
had what was called a town green, and it was a fine 
place to play in. So Cheshire had other merits for me 
than its renowed academy. 

The mention of Cheshire brings up a political remi- 
niscence, connected with a very remarkable chapter in 
our history. At Cheshire lived the Hon. Samuel A. 
Foote, a friend of my father's, to whose family I was 
introduced. He had two sons near my own age, one 
of whom has been a lawyer in Cleveland and a trustee 
of the Ohio Reform School. Samuel A. Foote was 
Governor of Connecticut, and senator and representa- 
tive in Congress for about ten years. While in the 
senate, in 1832, Mr. Foote introduced a resolution, ever 
after known as " Foote's Resolution." It was before 
the senate for two or three months, and was debated 
by almost every member of the senate, involving all 
the questions of tariff, nullification, and states rights. 
The resolution itself was not of much importance, but 



62 Personal Memories. 



it was used us a text on which the talent and eloquence 
of the nation went forth to the battle of words, intro- 
ductory to that greater battle, the rebellion. Governor 
Foote was a man of moderate talents, but of pleasing 
manners and most excellent character. I remained, as 
I have already said, but a brief time at Cheshire. 

One summer day, my parents drove up to the tavern 
in their gig, and found me on the town green, chasing 
a pig. My mother cried out: "How thin you are! 
Y<»u arc nothing but skin and bone." ]STo wonder ; 
for their beloved son had been chiefly engaged in play- 
ing hall, picking blackberries, and chasing pigs. I was 
acquiring the vitality and fiber which was to carry me 
through the next half century. I was about to enter 
a new career. It was the summer of 1815 when I re- 
turned to ^Yest Point. I was just fourteen years of 
age when I received my appointment as cadet. AVest 
Point had then none of the fine buildings and orna- 
ments which it has since received. But nature was 
still the same. There were the grand old mountains, 
rocks, and the river — the same scenes which had 
beheld the treason of Arnold ; and on the mountain 
side stood old Fort Put., almost the only ruin in our 
country which can remind the traveler of the castel- 
lated ruins of Europe. There, too, were the lonely 
graves of the Revolution, unknown to the present gen- 
eration, hut which I knew and found beneath the shade 
of the rocks and the cedars. There the trees grew 
green o'er the homes of the dead, who had fought 
with Washington and Wayne. 

" There the poldier rests in his lonely mound. 
Unmarked by the mountain storm thundering around." 



Personal Memories. 6-; 



■> 



Old Fort Put. is the onlv witness to their burial. 

Dr. Vandcrgild, of New York, in his ode to West 

Point, begins thus : 

" Dreary and lone as the scenes that surround thee, 
Thy battlements rise midst the crags of the wild." 

It was then almost a wild, for no steamboats were 
seen on the river, no tine buildings rose on the plain, 
and no bright assembly of ladies and gentlemen greeted 
the evening parade. West Point was then as the Rev- 
olution had left it, before the hand of Young America 
had adorned it as the home of young officers and the 
resort of fashion. 



64 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER V. 

West Point— Its Organization— Its Professors — Want 
of Text- Books — Cadet Life — Oral teachings — Scenery 
and Memorials. 

I AM writing upon Broadway, Cincinnati, which 
was laid out by Colonel Mansfield in 1808. It was 
part of sixteen acres which belonged to the govern- 
ment, as the site of Fort Washington. The Fort 
itself was on Third street, between Broadway and Lud- 
low. His intention in laying out a street so broad 
was to make a great avenue for the city; but the 
owners above Fourth street would not extend it. The 
original street was called " Eastern Row," being laid 
out only sixty feet broad. But, I need not proceed 
with this history as it is all on record. 

In the spring of 1815, I was appointed a cadet at 
Wesl Point. I was not quite fourteen years of age, 
but the term did not begin until September. The 
history of my life while a cadet is the history of the 
most important era at West Point; in which was be- 
gun and established the whole course of instruction 
and discipline which has forwarded and made it the 
firsl scientific institution of the world. For this reason 
I will describe, as briefly as I can, what took place 
there. I must begin with my father, who was the 
licr-i teacher there, and the real author of the scien- 
tific instruction begun and continued at that institu- 
tion. lie was, by nature, a student, and, by educa- 



Personal Memories, 65 

tiou, both a scholar and a man of science. His work 
in establishing the first Observatoiy at Ludlow Sta- 
tion ; his running the Meridian Lines, and establish- 
ing the public surveys on scientific principles, I have 
already described. He returned to West Point sim- 
ply from the love of teaching, and the pursuit of sci- 
ence. His professorship was that of natural philoso- 
phy, mechanics, and astronomy. His first class con- 
sisted of five persons, whom he received and taught L/ 
in his own parlor. He remained at the military acad- 
emy fifteen years. He was beloved by his pupils. 
When he retired, the cadets and officers had his por- 
trait painted by Sully, and it now hangs in the library 
at West Point. It was after he went there that I was 
sent to Cheshire. Thence, I returned a mere boy, 
with no particular plan of life, or any particular ideas 
of anything, except play and amusement. In fact, I had 
spent nearly all my time in Cheshire in play, and had no 
special desire for study of any kind. Why should I? 
It would be a curious and instructive chapter of hu- 
man life, if each one who had led a busy, or a studi- 
ous life could relate just how and when motives began 
to act upon his mind ; for, it is motives of some kind 
which move the mind to any action, or any purpose. 
I can tell distinctly when motives began to act upon 
me, and moral stimulus to invigorate my spirit. It will 
appear as I proceed. Two years at West Point were 
almost as useless as the one which preceded them ; 
and then came a change, which will be apparent. In 
the meanwhile, however, I did acquire much. I could 
not help it. So many lessons had to be recited each 
day, and I could not fail to learn something. Those 
wee the days of my algebra, geometry, trigonometry, 



(jQ Personal 31emories. 



French, and drawing. I was quick to learn, and of 
course, Learned all these things, in what was thought 
a creditahle manner. Fortunately for me, nine-tenths 
of the young men had no aptitude for mathematics, 
while I had. Something occurred in the processes of 
my mind then, which made me think, in after years, 
of the true method of teaching and learning. The 
most difficult and inscrutable thing, to me, was that 
which is really the simplest and easiest of all mathe- 
matical ideas — the elementary proportions of geome- 
try. For a dozen or two theorems, I went on recit- 
ing well and accurately, without having the least idea 
of the relations of angles, and figures, and surfaces; 
but, after a little while, I got light on those relations, 
and from that moment, geometry, mechanics, and me- 
chanical philosophy have been the easiest studies I 
ever pursued. This taught me the fundamental prin- 
ciple of all teaching, learning, and reasoning. All 
science and all philosophy have certain units, element- 
ary truths, hack of which you can not go, and with- 
out which you can make no sj'stem of science what- 
ever. Hence, the very beginning of all instruction 
is the original units, and if they are once understood, 
all else is easy. Hence, we see the wisdom of the 
great music professor, who kept his pupil nine years 
practicing on the notes and chords, and then sent him 
out the best singer in Europe. 

The professors of the academy, when I first went 
there, were my father, professor of philosophy and as- 
tronomy; Andrew Ellicot^ professor of mathematics, 
\\1"> had been in the service of the government, and 
was, I think, the man who laid out the City of Wash- 
ington ; Clai DE CROZET, who had been an engineer in 



Personal Memories. G7 

Napoleon's army, and was one of the few who sur- 
vived the retreat from Moscow. Claudius Berard was 
professor of French. lie was a man of letters and a 
scholar. Christian Zoeller was professor of drawing. 
Besides these, there was a commander of the battalion, 
a fencing master, and two or three assistant professors. 
My immediate teaclier of mathematics was Stephen H. 
Lonir, afterward a distinguished civil engineer. Thefirst 
two years were occupied with mathematics, drawing, 
skating, fencing, football, and dancing. Up to this time 
I had no motives for action, except the simple ones of 
not being degraded in my class, and the better one of 
pleasing my mother, who was always admonishing me 
upon the duties of life. Thus passed the first two years 
at West Point, in which I acquired a tolerable knowl- 
edge of mathematics and French. But, now, in 1817, 
came a change over me, over the institution, and over 
the very place itself. How this came about is best re- 
lated bv describing: the situation of affairs before that 
change, as compared with their present condition. 

During the years 181 j and 1816, of which I have 
spoken, the institution was conducted on something 
like a patriarchal system, by Captain Alden Partridge 
of the engineers, who had practical ideas and paid 
very little attention to the laws and regulations estab- 
1 -lied for the teaching. He thought that a great 
military school might be conducted upon the same 
principles with a college, he being in the light of 
a president, who should advise and admonish the boys 
and regulate things generally, without much regard 
to the army regulations. In one word, the academy was 
conducted without system, and without much regard 
to anything save the opinion of Captain Partridge. 



68 Personal Memories. 



Here, I may Bay, that he afterward (having resigued 
from the army) established two military schools, in- 
corporated in Vermont, and Connecticut. lie was an 
able and popular man, but very little fitted for the 
army. 

To the unsystematic and in some respects illegal 
manner of conducting the academy, my father was 
strongly opposed, and so in the end were all the officers 
and professors. After a decided conflict, a change was 
effected in the institution. Captain Partridge Avas 
ordered away and resigned. In his place was ap- 
pointed Colonel Sylyanus Thayer, one of the most 
accomplished men in the army, and the very best 
lilted for the place. He was a polished gentleman, 
and a strict disciplinarian. He voluntarily retired 
from the academy a few years after, took charge of 
Fort Warren, in Boston harbor, and recently died at 
more than eighty years of age. !N"o improvement has 
been made in the academy since he left it; I mean in 
the course and manner of studies and discipline. A 
greater amount of means has been provided, new 
buildings erected, West Point beautified, and the 
world admitted into hotels; but, in the mode, morals, 
and discipline of the institution, no change has 
been made. Colonel Thayer took charge of the 
academy on or about the first of January, 1817. This 
was rather a memorable date with me, for I was look- 
ing at a battery firing — New Year's salute — when one 
of the cadets was instantly killed by a cannon, prema- 
turely discharged. This was Vincent M. Lowe, whose 
name I mention, because what is called the " cadet's 
monument' was erected to him while I was there. 
After Colonel Thayer took command everything was 



Personal Merhories. 69 

changed. Order took the place of disorder. A faculty 
was formed with the professors and superintendent, 
and they were governed hy the law creating the acad- 
emy, and the regulations of the army. In one word 
the academy "became a great school of military science, 
and from that date competed with the best in the world. 
Among other changes made, there was one which had 
a particular bearing on me. It was ordered by the war 
department, that at each animal examination, five cadets 
of each class should be enrolled according to merit, and 
their promotion in the army be determined by this order. 
"When this order was issued, I remember very well, when 
sitting at the breakfast table, my mother (who was am- 
bitious for her son) said that I could and must be one 
of the " five," who, by the way, were to be honorably 
recorded in the army register. I don't think this 
mention moved me much, but my father looked up 
and said: "Edward, if you will be one of the five, I 
will give you the best gold watch I can buy." That 
struck my attention, and, to tell the truth, was the 
leading motive to my increased activity. A gold watch 
is rather a stirring prize to a youth. I had only two 
years to make up time in, but I did it, and the watch 
I wear is the evidence of my diligence. From that 
moment I waked up, and did a good deal of hard work 
before my graduation. I have often said, and repeat 
here, that our class had harder work than any one 
since has had. For this there were some good reasons, 
and if this page should be seen by anyone interested 
in the history of scientific institutions, it may be well 
to note some of the conditions of science in this country 
at that time. We were the first class organized and 
taught in the mode and on the principles now adopted 



70 



Personal Memories. 

at West Point. Here we had all the difficulties of 
pioneers, and they are not small. First of all was the 
difficulty of text-books. Nobody now can imagine 
what that was, for now men of science and great pub- 
lishing houses are engaged in preparing and publish- 
ing text-books. Then there were literally no text- 
books for students. There were books of science for 
men of science, but none for students. The French 
were the earliest and best makers of text-books; 
but we were not then prepared to study science in the 
French language. Hence our course of study was a 
rough one, compared with what is now. I will give 
you some examples. My father could not find any book 
for mechanical philosopy but " Gregory's Mechanics." 
This was a book written for men of science, and, of 
course, hard for students, but that was our text-book. 
But there were some subjects on which we had no 
text-book, good or bad. A French mathematician 
named "Monge" had devised, or first published, a 
system of practical geometry, called "Descriptive 
( reometry." The primary idea of it is the representa- 
tion of all objects, or geometrical figures, by projection 
on two planes, perpendicular to one another. It is a 
very useful thing in some practical problems. This 
was studied in the French Polytecnique School, and 
we had to study it, and that without any text-books 
whatever. Our professor of engineering was Claude 
Crozet, whom I have mentioned was an officer of en- 
gineers in Napoleon's last army. He was a graduate 
of the Polytechnique School, and fortunately had all 
his drawings and books with him. Here, then, were 
we to study descriptive geometry, mid (he problems of 
engineering connected with it, without the slightest 



Personal Memories. 71 

idea of what we were to do, and without any books on 
the subject. But we had what was better. We had 
Claude Crozet, a large black-board and chalk, with 
the drawings of the Polytechnique Institute. We were 
compelled to adopt the old Greek method of oral in- 
struction, and it is the best. I have often thought, since, 
that, if it were possible to teach all sciences and lan- 
guages orally, the education acquired would be better 
and higher. The result would be that each student 
would make for himself the science or language he was 
learning. Some years after that I saw this idea real- 
ized, when my sister was learning French. Mr. Du- 
commun, a French professor at West Point, volun- 
teered to teach her. All the books she had was a 
blank-book. Each day she wrote in that the lesson, 
beginning with the alphabet, and going through all the 
parts of grammar. The end was that she had made 
and written in her blank-book the whole French gram- 
mar. After that she began at once to read French. 
She began with a French story- writer, Ftorian, whose 
tales were beautiful. This part, I shared in, for I 
read Florian, Madame De Stael, Moliere, and other 
French writers with great delight. 

But I must return. For the want of good text- 
books, our class had a far harder time of study than 
any succeeding class. We also had a far harder time 
in work and discipline. You will see this when I tell 
you what we had and what we had not. You go to 
West Point now, and you see a fine drill-room and a 
cavalry -house, and soldiers to do the hard work. In 
one word, you find West Point quite an elegant retreat 
for young gentlemen who are not expected to do much 
hard work in this world, and whose health a little rain 



72 Personal Memories. 



might endanger. Now, when we were there, none of 
those things existed, and our work was adapted to 
harden, i t'not refine. We invariably arose at the tap of the 
drum after reveille, summer or winter, and drilled to 
breakfast, which was at seven o'clock. In the long 
davs of summer, there was a two hours' drill before 
breakfast ; and, with sleepiness and weariness, without 
resl or food, it seemed as if human nature could scarcely 
endure it.* In winter the drill was shorter, but more 
severe. I have drilled at West Point when the plain 
was covered with a sheet of ice and the thermometer 
at zero. ]STo warm house covered us, and no fear of 
weather alarmed us. The afternoon drill was at four 
o'clock, as now, and that was not unpleasant; for in 
summer it was good weather, and we had an assembly 
of lookers-on to admire us. But I can not say that I 
ever greatly admired drilling, especially the artillery 
drill, when we had no horses. You go there now, and 
the young gentlemen manage their artillery admirably, 
for they have good horses. We were our own horses, 
and many a day have we drawn the cannon over hill 
and dale by a leather harness thrown over our shoul- 
ders. It was very hard work, and it was unnecessary; 
but I have no reason to complain, for these four years 
were years of regimen and discipline, to which after- 
life furnished no equal. He w T ho comes forth from an 
education with a strong body, a clear mind, and an 
unstained conscience, has got from it all that human 
teaching can give. 

I do nut mean to say, that the drills are not the same; but 
thai tin' facilities and conveniences are so much greater, that the 

ts have no longer so severe a regimen. The order of the 
institution lias remained the same since 1817. 



Personal Memories. 73 



You can see from what I have said that West Point 
was to our class almost an unmixed scene of work and 
study ; but we had some amusements. In summer, the 
latter part of the afternoon, we often played foot-ball, 
a game I was fond of, as I was a fast runner, and alert 
in all field games. In winter the Hudson furnished the 
best skating in the world ; and when they could get an 
hour to spare, much did the cadets enjoy the ice of the 
Hudson. 

Saturday afternoons were always given us, and in 
summer that was my time for walking, and much did 
I enjoy the sublime and picturesque scenery of the 
highlands. I have seen many beautiful and grand 
scenes, but I never saw one which surpassed that up 
the river from West Point. I would often run to " Old 
Fort Put.," and look off from its battlements upon the 
rock-built mountains and the lake-like river, shut in 
between Beacon Hill and Crow Nest. One day I was 
looking from the walls of the old fort, when a storm 
rose suddenly from the north, and a large sloop, near 
the Point, was struck before the sails could be taken 
in. Over she went, and women and children were 
drowned in the deep water below. It was on old Fort 
Put. that Dr. Vandergild wrote these beautiful lines, 
beginning with — 

" Lonely and drear as the scenes that surround thee, 
Thy battlements rise 'midst the crags of the wild." 

West Point is no longer lonely, but as you look upon 
the ruined walls of the old fort, and again upon those 
bold and rock-built mountains, there is a scene of wild- 
ness and grandeur which reminds you of some myste- 
rious ruins, which the hand of civilization has left un- 
touched. 



74 Personal Memories. 



In wandering- through the woods and hills are 
found the remains of no less than thirteen forts and 
batteries, which had been built in the revolution. 
The trees are grown upon most of them, and nearly 
all will be unknown to the next generation. In the 
woods were the remains of the huts in which the rev- 
olutionary army encamped, and all around were the 
little raised mounds, which indicate the graves of the 
dead : 

"There they sleep in lonely tombs, forgetting, forgot, 
Unawak'd by the mountain storm thund'ring around." 

These memorials are even now unknown, and soon 
nothing 1 but these lines will record their existence. 
Near by, above Washington's valley, rises the beauti- 
ful cemetery, which contains the marble monuments 
of those who come after, and they, too, with their 
cemetery, will soon pass into the unrecorded and un- 
remembcred past. Very probably the picture of my 
father, which hangs in the library of the academy, 
will survive all the monuments, and transmit to other 
generations the calm and abstract expression of him 
who w.is the first teacher of West Point and one of 
the most scientific minds of America. 

lint I must pass on. One of the amusing things to 
be found among a large body of young men is the 
singular and original characters one meets with. I 
only remember here and there an incident which 
amused me at the time. I have often mentioned them 
a- tiny were told to me. One young man, who had 
been made a hntt df by the cadets, it is said, went to 
old Captain Partridge, then superintendent, and with 
melancholy face said: "Captain,] have come to re- 
Bign my resignation, because I have no comfort in my 



Personal Memories. 75 



happiness." I believe he was comforted and induced 
to remain. 

Another was Corbln, of Virginia, who came at a 
later date, and was what is commonly called a "green" 
young man from the rural districts. It happened to 
be Christmas time, and for a marvel there was a tur- 
key on his mess-table, and for an equal wonder — it 
being Christmas — the carver was polite to the stranger. 
So he said: "Mr. Corbin, what part will you take?" 
Corbin instantly replied : "Imparticular — big piece — 
anvwhar!" He was rather smart, but continued 
rough, but good natured. 

I had a classmate named Rupp, who was not smart. 
On the contrary, it took him a great deal of labor to 
get his lessons, and he wanted all liis study hours. 
Corbin, on the other hand, was lazy, and went about 
visiting. He took a fancy to liupp, and would go to 
Rupp's room when the latter was hard at study. At 
length Rupp asked him to come at some other hour. 
But no — his good natured friend would drop in, much 
to his discomfiture. So he told Corbin he must not 
come in any more in study hours. But all in vain, 
all in vain. Soon after in comes Corbin, when he was 
puzzling on a mathematical problem. Poor Rupp 
could stand it no longer: " Corbin, get out, and if you 
come in again, I will kick you out !" The calm voice 
of Corbin replied : "Kow, Rupp, none of your hints!" 
Ever after we would speak of " Rupp's hints" as 
among the new measures of the day. 

Corbin I remember particularly, from being in my 
company, and in my room, in the old City Hotel of 
New York, when we were marched down to be re- 
viewed by Governor Clinton. The old City Hotel of 



7)3 Personal Memories. 



New York was on Broadway, below Wall, and almost 
the only real hotel in the city. . The city was then 
only one-tenth of what it is now, and the old City 
Hail was thought the finest building in the country, 
and so I think it was. St. Paul's Church was then 
the best in the city, and there it now stands with old 
graveyard and its monument to Emmitt. Our com- 
pany was encamped, as it were, in the City Hotel. 
The band of the battalion, with another company, 
occupied the great ball room. The next day after our 
arrival we were reviewed in front of the City Hall. 
It was one of the hottest days I ever experienced, and 
we had a long and weary march. "When dismissed, I 
rushed to an ice-cream shop, and I think nothing ever 
tased better than ice-cream then did. 

In the evening of that day we were inarched to the 
theater, where old Barnes, a famous comic actor, 
played. I was not much interested in the play and 
altogether disgusted with the theater. Whatever 
people may say, the theater, at least in its manner 
and outward appearance, has much improved since 
thai day. It is true that great tragedians were highly 
valued then, and that the melodrama and the mena- 
gerie plays are more common now, but the general 
tone of the best theaters has improved. 

In the following winter the superintendent allowed 
our fencing master to give dancing lessons, and on 
i he days or evenings in which we were allowed to go 
we had a jolly time. The ladies were few, but there 
were em, ugh to make up a dance, and make it pleas- 
ant for us who were allowed to go. I can not recall 
but two ladies of that number now alive. I will say 
that our teacher said 1 was the best walker at the 



Personal Memories. 77 

Point — a quality which I retained until, a few years 

since, I was thrown out of a buggy and so injured 

that I have not walked so well since. 

The time now drew near in which I was to finish 

my career at the academy. The annual examination 

was the dread of all good students; the poor ones, I 

imagine, were less anxious. I had began real study 

only when half my time there had passed; but then 

the last two years had been years of hard work, and 

now I must prepare for the examination, which at 

West Point was then very severe — more so than it is 

now. It was the only time in my life in which I sat 

up late at night to study, and then only for two or 

three nights. It was hot weather, and my mother 

made me strong: tea. The examination passed oft' verv 

well, and I graduated the fourth in my class. I was, 

I believe, the youngest who has ever graduated. I 

had not reached my eighteenth birthday, when I was 

commissioned in the engineer corps, and ordered to 

Washington Cit} r . It was the hest appointment the 

government could give, and it may be questionable 

whether it was wise to decline it ; hut I did, and left 

all military service behind me. Who is it says : 

" There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough-hew them how we will ! " 

In this case the agent of divinity was my mother, 
who did not want me in the army, and who did want 
me to come West. Then it was decided I should enter 
college and study law. This changed the whole 
course of life, and what came of it I will relate here- 
after. 



78 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Go to a Connecticut Academy — Farmington — New Eng- 
land Society — Young People's Party — Timothy Pitkin 
— Missouri Compromise — Effect in Connecticut — Re- 
turn to West Point — Classic Studies — Mr. Picton. 

I graduated at West Point in June, 1810. I stood 
fourth in the class, and was commissioned second lieu- 
tenant of engineers. My commission was signed by 
John . C. Calhoun, Secretary of War. It was deter- 
mined in the family council, however, that I should be 
a lawyer. This required a new departure and a new 
preparation. I therefore declined my appointment as 
lieutenant of engineers, and my father offered to pay 
back to the government all the money spent upon me 
at West Point. The government, however, would not 
receive it, there being no law authorizing it to do so. 
I then proceeded to buy citizens' clothes, which I men- 
tion here because of the difference between that day 
and this in price and fashion. It (the cloth for my suit) 
was briglrl blue broadcloth, and cost fourteen dollars 
a yard ; was made close fitting, and ornamented with 
brighl gilt buttons. At the present time the cloth 
used lor gentlemen's suits would not be probably 
more than half this cost for the best, and is not so well 
made up. In one word, gentlemen do not dress so 
well now as then. The gentlemen of the revolution- 
ary school dressed with powdered hair, white top boots, 
silk breeches, and silver knee-buckles. This had passed 






Personal Memories. 79 

away before my time, as a fashion at least, though I 
saw two or three gentlemen so dressed in Connecticut. 
It is to he hoped that the manners of gentlemen have 
not declined so much as their dress. In August, 1815, 
my father took me to Farmington, Conn., to prepare, 
under a private tutor, to enter college, preparatory to 
the study of the law. There were then, and I believe 
are still, academies and private tutors in Xew England 
for the purpose of preparing young men for college. 
They are the feeders of the ISTew England colleges, and 
have done much to sustain their high reputation. The 
winter after this I was wandering with Virgil and puz- 
zling over the intricacies of the Greek grammar or the 
Epistles of Paul. 

As this was to me a new and striking life, I will give 
a little description of it, chiefly for the sake of the in- 
side view I had of Isew England society. My tutor, 
Mr. Hooker, was a descendant of one of the old JSTew 
England families, and had all the characteristics of the 
Puritans ; was very religious and exact in all his du- 
ties. He lived on what had been a farm, but a por- 
tion of it had been embraced in the town. Having 
got forward in the world, he had built a new house. 
His old house was one of the oldest in the country, 
large, dark-red, with a long, sharp, projecting roof. 
This was the residence and schoolroom of the students, 
and we called it " Old Eed." There were about four- 
teen of us, from nearly as many states. There we 
lodged, and there we recited, while we took our meals 
at Mr. Hooker's. His son John afterward married 
Miss Isabella Beecher, now the noted Mrs. Isabella 
Hooker. 

Mr. Hooker was a deacon in the church — the church 



80 Personal Memories. 



I say, emphatically, for it was the only one in the vil- 
lage—a monument remaining to the old and unques- 
tioned orthodoxy of New England. It stood on the 
little green, its high, sharp spire pointing to heaven. 
The pastor of that church was Mr. Porter, who 
preached there for nearly half a century. He was the 
father of the present Noah Porter, president of Yale 
College. Mr. Hooker took a large pew for the stu- 
dents, and told us to make notes of the sermon, upon 
which he questioned us. I was always thankful for 
this exercise, for I got into such a habit of analyzing 
discourses that if the speaker had any coherence at all, 
I could always give the substance of the sermon or 
address. This is to a newspaper man a useful talent. 
I have tried to discover what was the religious effect 
of this continual hearing and analyzing sermons, but 
could not hnd any. Such exercises become a habit, 
and are purely intellectual. A striking figure is some- 
times remembered, but any spiritual effect is wanting 
on young people who have not learned to think se- 
riously. I remember one of Mr. Porter's illustrations 
of the idea of death, which I think he must have taken 
from Sir Walter Scott's "Talisman." At any rate, 
Scott has beautifully described it in that work. It is 
that of Saladin, who, in the midst of the most splendid 
fete, surrounded by his chiefs, had the black banner 
unfolded, on which was inscribed, " Saladin, remember 
thou miisi die!" Mr. Porter was more than half a, 
century minister in that parish, a most successful cler- 
gyman, honored in his life and in his death. Such was 
the ministration of the church to me, but I must say 
that in the service the chief objects of my devotion 
were the bright and handsome u'irls around. At that 



Personal Memories. 81 

time, and to a great degree yet in a New England vil- 
lage, out of the great stream of the world, its young 
women were the largest part of the inhabitants, and 
by far the most interesting. The young men usually 
emigrated to the cities or the West, in hopes of making 
fortunes. The old people were obliged to remain to 
take care of their homesteads, and the young wome x 
stayed also. 

No place illustrated this better than Farmington, 
where there were at least five young women to one young 
man. The advent of the students was of course an 
interesting event to them. And a young gentleman 
in his nineteenth year was not likely to escape wholly 
the bright shafts which, however modestly directed, 
he was sure to encounter. I soon became acquainted 
with these young ladies, and never passed a pleasanter 
time than when days of study were relieved by eve- 
nings in their society. My father went with me to 
Farmington, and introduced me to the Hon. Timothv 
Pitkin. This gentleman was then a very distinguished 
man. He was one of the leading men of the old Fed- 
eral party. He was sixteen years a representative from 
the State of Connecticut, and had written a very good 
book on the civil history and statistics of this country. 
He was a plain man, of the old school, living in an 
old-fashioned house, near the church. In two or three 
weeks after I had been in " Old Red," Mr. Pitkin 
called upon me, and said his daughters would be glad 
to see me on a certain evening. Of course I accepted ; 
and on that evening, arrayed in my unrivaled blue 
coat, with brass buttons, cravated and prinked, accord- 
ing to the fashion, I presented myself at Mr. Pitkin's. 
It was well I had been accustomed to good .society, 



82 Personal Memories. 



for never was there a greater demand for moral cour- 
age. On entering the parlor, I saw one young man 
leaning on the mantle-piece, and around the room, for 
I counted them, were eighteen young ladies ! During 
the evening my comrade and self were reinforced 
by two or three students, but Jive made the whole num- 
ber of young men who appeared during the evening. 
The gentleman who was in the room when I entered 
it was Mr. Thomas Perkins, of Hartford, who after- 
ward married Miss MaryBeecher, the daughter of Dr. 
Lyman Beecher. The town of Farmington furnished 
but one beau during the evening, and I found out aft- 
erward that there were but two or three in the place ; I 
mean in that circle of society. This was perhaps an 
extreme example of what might have been found in 
all the villages of New England, where, in the same 
circle of society, there were at least three girls to one 
young man. You maybe sure that when I looked 
upon that phalanx of eighteen young women, even the 
assurance of a West Point cadet gave way. But the 
perfect tact of the hostess saved mo from trouble. 
This was Miss Ann Pitkin, now Mrs. Denio, her hus- 
band being Mr; Denio, late Chief Justice of New York. 
Miss Pitkin evidently saw my embarrassment, which 
was the greater from my being near-sighted. She 
promptly came forward, offered me a chair, and, intro- 
ducing me to the ladies, at once began an animated 
conversation. In half an hour I felt at home, and was 
ever a Tier grateful to Miss Pitkin. 

I will mention here as one of the characteristics of 
New England manners, that Mr. and Mrs. Pitkin 
never once entered the room on this occasion, and the 
older people never appeared at any of the parties or 



Personal Memories. 83 

Bleigh-rides given by the young people, or at any 
gatherings not public. This was contrary to the cus- 
toms of my father's house, where people of all ages 
attended the parties, and my mother was the most 
conspicuous person and the most agreeable of enter- 
tainers. I think it both more agreeable and useful to 
have parties composed of all the members of families; 
but, perhaps, this custom gave the young women of 
Connecticut that self-command and independence of 
character which is characteristic of them. Parties for 
young people in those days were given cheaply and 
simply, even the largest parties at Xew Haven and 
Hartford were given at a tenth of the cost of one in 
•Cincinnati at the present day, where the object seems 
to be less hospitality than show. I attended a very 
large wedding party in Hartford, at Gen. Terry's, the 
grandfather of the present Gen. Terry, where every- 
thing was hospitable and pleasing, rat her than expen- 
sive. In those days aristocracy had something of re- 
ality, but in these times proclaims itself parvenu. I 
only regret that American society should imitate the 
vanities and vices of aristocracy rather than its vir- 
tues and talents. 

But to return to Farmington, the evening passed 
pleasantly away, and I was launched into Farmington 
society ; as there were only three of us, at the close 
of the entertainment, to escort the young ladies home, 
it was fortunate that Farmington was built almost en- 
tirely in one street, so one of us took the girls who 
went down street, one, those who went up street, and 
a third, those who branched off. Of these young 
ladies, more than half bore one name, that of Cowles. 
I was told there were in that township three hundred 



84 Personal Memories. 



persons of the name of Cowles. There were on the 
main street five families of brothers, in all of which I 
visited, and to whom I was indebted for many pleas- 
ant hours. 

It was a very interesting period in my life. I was 
introduced into the ways of society, especially New 
England society, under the best auspices calculated to 
make me pleased with this human drama, in which we 
are engaged, attracted by what is good, and not af- 
fected by any of that morbid sensibility which so of- 
ten does affect those who meet society under disagree- 
able cirenn, stances. 

There also, I received my first political ideas, and 
they have remained to this day little changed by the 
passage of time and events. I will relate the polit- 
ical condition of things, then, because part of it is 
unwritten history, which, if you do not get in this 
way, you will not get at all. 

In the winter of 1810-1820, the reader will see by 
the public history, began the agitation of what was 
called the " Missouri Question." Missouri, then a 
territory, was part of the original Territory of Lou- 
isiana, acquired by treaty with France. It was en- 
tirely and exclusively national domain. Its settlers 
had introduced slaves. When it applied, at this time, 
for admission into the Union, objection was made to 
slavery ; and it was moved in Congress to exclude and 
forbid slavery from the new states. Of course, this 
was supported by the Northern people, who foresaw 
clearly, thai it' no restriction was placed upon slavery, 
6V( fy new state was likely to come in with that insti- 
tution, and slaveiy become dominant in this country. 
This was not the beginning of the Abolition ainta- 

00 o 



Personal Memories. 85 



tion ; but it was the beginning of the political con- 
troversy. The Abolition question had begun with 
the very beginning of the Constitution. My father, 
Dr. Rush, and Dr. Franklin, with the whole Society 
of Friends, had petitioned Congress for abolition thirty 
years before. Yon will find that fact and the debates 
upon it in the records of Congress, and set forth in 
Benton's Debates in the Senate. Those petitions were, 
even in the first sessions of Congress, received with 
disgust, and bitterly opposed by the Southern repre- 
sentatives. But the first political agitation on the 
subject of slavery arose on the Missouri Question, in 
1819-1820. I received my ideas upon it then, and, as 
they were more and more confirmed in after years, I 
will anticipate a little to show you how they af- 
fected my after political conduct. I was afterward a 
great admirer and disciple of Daniel Webster. My 
ideas of Constitutional Powers were derived from 
him. We went along together until 1850, when Mr. 
Webster, as a Whig Conservative, and yet a Northern 
man, was surrounded with great difficulties. On the 
7th of March, 1850, he made a speech in the Senate, 
in which he undertook to get rid of the question by 
climatic laws. He said it was unnecessary to restrict 
slavery in JS"ew Mexico, Califoruian, etc., because, 
it never could prevail there, on account of cli- 
mate, soil, etc. In other words, he was unequal to 
treating the subject on that high, moral, and social 
ground, upon which alone it could be properly treated. 
In the slang of the day, he "dodged" the question 
both morally and politically. From that day, I never 
walked with Mr. Webster. He w T as a great man, of 
whom I shall speak hereafter, but not great in that 



8G Personal Memories. 



superior and higher sphere of intellectual liberty in 
which must be discussed all questions of Christian 
morals and human freedom. I have anticipated this 
much, because my first ideas on slavery were received 
while I was at Farmington. The- Missouri Question 
was then on hand, and it was the popular and excit- 
ing theme of the day. I, you see, was visiting in the 
family of and instructed by a distinguished statesman 
of the old Federal school. I was in a part of ]STew 
England where people were of the primitive stock, 
and who looked upon the Southern people with jeal- I 
ousy, and upon slavery with abhorrence. I was a 
youth easily impressed with the opinions of my 
friends ; but, in this instance, they were also the opin- 
ions of my mother — it is more than probable that she 
had more influence than all others. It was then, I have 
said, the -Missouri Question arose, which was simply 
whether slavery should be excluded not. only in Missouri, 
but from all the territories. The parties in it were then, 
as they have since been, the North and the South. In 
the Senate the South prevailed. In the House the 
North. The result was a compromise, which remained 
nearly forty years. Missouri was admitted with slavery ; 
bui it was excluded from all the territories north of 36° 
30' of Latitude. Tins compromise was exceedingly 
unpopular in the North, and hated in New England. 
It was only carried by the desertion of six members 
from the North. Three of them happened to be from 
1 he State of ' "onneeticut, and nothing could exceed the 
popular excitement upon that occasion. The three 
numbers were burnt in effigy at various places, and 
popular indignation rose against them; and my 
Farmuiffton friends were bitter in their denunciation. 



Personal Memories. 87 

This brings me to one of the unwritten facts of onr 
history, which is, nevertheless, as true as any recorded. 
The flame of the anti-slavery agitation then kindled 
never went out. The public attention was diverted. 
Other public events absorbed the public mind. Presi- 
dential candidates were discussed ; but, underneath 
them all, quietly burning in many hearts, was the de- 
termination that slavery should be destroyed. The 
tariff question soon arose, but that was largely a ques- 
tion of money. Then nullification, when South Car- 
olina showed her teeth against the Union. Then, in 
1837, came the great discussion on the rights of peti- 
tion, but I need not recite after events. The careful 
reader of history will see that the anti-slavery senti- 
ment continued to grow from the Missouri Compro- 
mise until the War of the Rebellion. The fires, smoth- 
ered for a time, never went out, until they burst 
forth into irrepressible flames. ]STo one, but one present 
at the time, can toll how bitter was the feeling of New 
England against Southern slavery. But that time is 
past, and all its feelings, excitements, and doings have 
entered into the shades of that history, of which shad- 
ows alone will remain. 

The time had now come for me to leave Farming- 
ton. My sleigh-rides, my parties, my pleasant visits, 
and, alas ! my pleasant friends, were to be left forever. 
My path lay in different and sometimes far less pleasant 
scenes. I well remember the bright morning on which 
I stood on Mr. Pitkin's step, bidding farewell to my 
kind and gentle friend, Mary Pitkin. Married and 
moved away, she soon bid farewell to this world, 
where she seemed, like the morning flower, too frail 
and too gentle to survive the frost and the storm. 



88 Personal Memories. 

In May, 1820, I returned to my father's home, at 
"West Point, to complete my preparations for Prince- 
Ion College. I recited Xenophon to my father, and 
the Greek Testament to our next-door neighbor, the 
Rev. Mr. Picton. He was the chaplain at West 
Point, and one of my earliest and best friends. 
He was a Welchman by birth, but had come to this 
country quite young; and, before coming to "West 
Point, was minister to the Presbyterian Church at 
Westfield, New Jersey. There he had been rather ob- 
scure, with a salary of only $500 a year. How he 
came to be appointed at West Point I never knew, for 
he was not an eloquent preacher, although a very good 
scholar. In the forenoon of the summer of 1820, I 
used to go to Mr. Picton's study and recite. I think 
nothing ever did give me so much trouble in studying 
as some of St. Paul's Epistles. It is difficult to under- 
stand some of his phrases, even in English, and more 
difficult in Greek. There has been, I think, too much 
literalness in the translation, and I can easily imagine 
that good scholars might make a simpler version than 
we now have. In the afternoon I would read Xeno- 
phon to my father, who, I may here say, was one of 
the best scholars of his day. Toward evening, I 
would run down to the river, or up to " Old Fort Put.," 
on whose rock-built battlements I would often stand 
alone, ami gaze with delight on that unequaled scene, 
where the dark mountain, the deep river, and the blue 
skies seemed to mingle together on the indefinable 
horizon of aature. 1 think it was that summer when 
Mrs. Minor, of Virginia, came to the Point, where she 
had a son, with letters, I think, to my father. At any 
rate, sin- was at our house. She had a daughter with 



Personal Memories. 89 

her, who, notwithstanding all my partiality for the 
Farmiugton girls, seemed to me more like some starry 
vision from enchanted land. She was really beautiful, 
and beauty is a power over all hearts. She was lively, 
and evidently amiable. All this, perhaps, I should 
not have known, but that I was almost the only young 
man at the Point disengaged from all duties, and, 
therefore by necessity her beau. I took long walks 
with her, especially one to " Old Fort Put.," descant- 
ing, of course, on the poetic and unrivaled beauties 
of that scene. I quoted the Lady of the Lake, and 
to the purpose, too : 

"And mountains that like giants stand, 
To sentinel enchanted land. 
High in the East, huge Break-Neck 
D iwd the river in masses threw 
Crags, knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurled, 
The fragments of an earlier world." 

The two or three days Miss Minor was with us, 
were to me another glance at paradise — but Paradise 
Lost. I never saw her again, although I often heard 
of her good work, and believe she is still alive. 

In the evenings of that summer, I often dropped in, 
as they say, to see our neighbor, Mr. Picton, although 
quite naturally, one of my attractions was Miss Mary 
Picton. She was a friend of my sisters and a favorite 
with my mother. She also was very pretty and very 
amiable. At that time — all the beaus that West Point 
could furnish, and I was one, were fluttering around 
her evening levees. I was not as much pleased with her 
as Miss Minor, or with two or three of the Farmington 
girls, yet she was undoubtedly one of the most lovely 
young women I ever saw. Her praises were in the 



90 Personal Memories. 



mouths of all her friends, and it was with no little sor- 
row I heard of her early death. She married Edwin 
Stevens, who recently died one of the wealthiest men 
in this country. It was a happy marriage, and when 
we sec such lovely women cut oif so early, when they 
could live so happy and so well, we wonder at the in- 
scrutable ways of Providence ; but, there will be some- 
time a rolling up of its veil, when all the acts of 
Providence will be as clear and as beautiful as the 
skies when the darkest clouds have rolled away. 

I must reture to Mr. Picton. For some reason, I 
believe because he was not thought an eloquent 
preacher, Mr. Picton left West Point. He next became 
a teacher in a Female Seminary, in New York. I 
afterward went to see him. Several years before that, 
an old village called " Greenwich " was near, but en- 
entirely disconnected from the city of JSIew York. 
When I went to visit Mr. Picton, I found he was on 
Christopher street, and on inquiry found it in the 
upper part of the city, but the street seemed old and 
the houses brown and shabby. I wondered at it, and 
asked Mr. Picton what it meant. Said he, "Do n't you 
know where you are?" "No," said I. "Why, you 
are in old Greenwich." Then I found, as characteris- 
tic of our country, that in a half dozen years the city 
of New York had so rapidly grown as to envelope 
( rreenwieh. 

lu a pleasant conversation I had with my old friend, 
I asked him how he liked being a teacher in a Female 
Seminary. " Oh," said he, "very well. I lived under 
• ivil and under military government, under ecclesiasti- 
cal and under petticoat government, and, on the whole, 
1 like petticoat government the best." When Mary 



Personal Memories. 01 

was married to Mr. Stevens, Mr. Picton went to their 
residence, on Hoboken Heights, where I again went to 
see him. It was the only point from which I ever saw, 
or, I believe, afforded, a perfect panoramic view of the 
splendid city and harbor of New York. From that 
point, the scene below is unsurpassed by anything seen 
by mortal vision. At last my friend passed away in 
the peaceful decline and peaceful end of a sincere, 
an upright, and a happy Christian. 



92 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Princeton — College Life — Professors — Lin dsley — Greene 
— Miller — Ahxan der — Hodge — My Classmates — Sen- 
ator Pearce — Professor Dod ; Richardson — The Phi- 
losophy of Ideas ; Witherspoon — Chesterfield. 

I am writing tliis chapter under the shadow of 
Beacon Hill, one of the principal scenes in Cooper's 
novel, " The Spy." It is historical ground, and every 
mountain and vale around is associated with the still 
vivid history of the Revolution. Through the High- 
lands, the Hudson, as if by force, bursts its way. Ac- 
cording to the average of human life, nearly two 
generations have gone since I first saw the Hudson. I 
I lived on its batiks for several years, and in the sum- 
mer of 1820, as I have said, w T as preparing for Prince- 
ton College. I read the Greek Testament with my 
friend Mr. Picton, and Xenophon with my father; 
and in September was admitted to the junior class at 
Nassau Hall. I was more than prepared in mathe- 
matics, but deficient in Greek/ Mr. Lindsley, profes- 
sor of languages, said I might make it up by extra 
study. This I did. I was conscientious, and took 
everything literally, which I have found would, in the 
present age of the world, be a great mistake. "With 
hard work, I had accomplished before January six 
books of Homer. 'When I came to Mr. Lindsley to 
be examined, be said : " Pooh ! pooh ! It 's no matter." 
The truth is, he had found me to be the best student 



Personal Memories. 93 



in the class — not the hardest worker in the classics, 
hnt the hest general student. Those six books of 
Homer were totally unnecessary. Still, the classics 
were always more or less of a burden to me, simply 
because I had not begun them early enough. There is 
no doubt that the study of languages should bo begun 
in childhood. Children learn language not by reason, 
but by imitation. Hence the study of language by 
the Hamiltonian method, ot reading before studying 
grammar, is probably the best. But to make it so, the 
study of languages should be begun in early child- 
hood. As I grew older, abstract reasoning became 
easy and pleasant, but the study of languages still re- 
mained difficult. In saying this, I don't mean the 
study of literature, but the study of words and gram- 
mar. Literature is gained best by the reading of the 
best authors. That reading will seldom be done with- 
out a taste for it. I had that taste from the day I 
learned to read, and while in Princeton College en- 
joyed some happy hours in reading, but those hours 
were few and far between, because to one, like myself, 
determined to stand high in his class, the college 
studies were quite severe. Upon the whole, my two 
years in Princeton College were years of the hardest 
work I ever did. In the meantime Mr. Lindsley and I 
got on capitally together, not only during my time at 
college, but in after years, when he continued my firm 
friend. 

Philip Lindsley was a man of line mind, of broad 
scholarship, of liberal views, and of better acquaintance 
with the world than is possessed by most college men. 
He was rather eccentric in manner, and not at all 
given to the prim ways of presidents and tutors. Per- 



94 Personal Memories. 



haps for that reason he was much loved by the students, 
lie was in Princeton College professor of belles-lettres, 
as well as of languages, and afterward president of 
Nashville University. 

Strange to say, that while my life has been largely 
spent in the cultivation of letters, yet it was the hard- 
est study I had at Princeton. Reading, I was accus- 
tomed to — writing, not at all. Still less was I used to 
that critical analysis which is necessaiy to the proper 
understanding of the finest elements of language — 
the right use of words and expression of thought. 
This study was difficult to me, but in after-times was 
of incalculable value. For my facility in writing I 
am indebted to Princeton College, and have less regret 
for time misused there than for that of any other 
period of my life. I worked hard, and I received the 
reward of my work. I need not describe college life; 
it varies little the world over. The morning prayers; 
the day recitations ; the Greek of Homer; the criticism 
of Longinus; the Odes of Horace ; the demonstrations 
of mathematics; the analysis of chemistry ; hydrocyanic 
acid ; electricity ; magnetism ; the speeches at evening 
prayers ; the Sunday exercise on the Bible ; and all 
the varied and continued employment of a student, 
made up my daily life in one of the most rigid 
and disciplined institutions in America. It is true 
that some of the students managed to get through the 
course with little labor and less thought, in that super- 
ficial and careless manner which makes a collegiate 
life almost, if not altogether, useless. But to me, my 
two years of college life involved hard work, and left 
me with less strength than when I began. Indeed, 
the winter previous to my graduation I was quite out 



Personal Memories. 95 

of health, and recovered in the spring only by my de- 
termination to take regular exercise, winch saved me, 
and might save thousands of others, from an untimely 
grave. 

Passing over the incidents of college life, I will 
mention some of the men I saw there — some of them 
among the most remarkable of their day. Nassau 
Hall— legally the College of New Jersey— had been 
founded, at Princeton, about one hundred years before 
I went there, by Presbyterians of the straitest sect — 
men who were memorable in the history of the State 
and in the history of the Church. As successive 
classes graduated at Princeton, its alumni made their 
mark upon the mind of the country, and, in some de- 
gree, upon that of the world. James Madison — per- 
haps the most enlightened of our presidents — gradu- 
ated at Princeton ; and if the reader will examine the 
triennial catalogue, he will find that prior to 1840, a 
large number of senators and statesmen were educated 
at Princeton. The Southern States had then scarcely 
any institutions of repute, and sent many of their 
young men to Nassau Hall. There was also at Prince- 
ton a Theological Seminary, founded a few years be- 
fore I was there, and already distinguished, and whieh 
has been since the source of much of the theology as 
well as polemic controversy in the country. Its pro- 
fessors w T ere men who impressed themselves upon the 
mind of the church, and that influence still continues. 
The late Charles Hodge was then tutor, and became 
afterward professor and doctor of divinity. For half a 
century, in the Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church 
and in the columns of the Princeton Review, and in 
the teaching of students, Dr. Hodge has been a lead- 



96 Personal Memories. 



ing theologian of the Calvinistic school, and of wide 
and permanent influence upon the rising clergymen 
of the day. Dr. Miller, who had been a writer of 
some reputation, was then professor of ecclesiastical 
history and church government. I knew little of 
him or of his family, except that they were very 
handsome people. There are not so many hand- 
some people in the world, that they can pass un- 
noticed. I know that Ovid says " Os liomini sublime 
dedit," but it has not been my fortune to see many 
evidences of the sublime, much less of absolute beauty 
in the human countenance. I can imagine that man 
was once a beautiful animal, but among the innumer- 
able evidences of the fall, may be counted the sin- 
convicted, care-worn faces one meets in every class of 
life. I used often to meet Dr. Miller and his daughter, 
in my daily walk upon the streets. Both father and 
daughter were erect, of regular features, and blooming, 
ruddy complexions. It was said in college, that one 
of the students, himself a handsome young man, had 
fallen in love with Miss Miller, and used to say lisp- 
ingly : '• The heighth of my ambithion is Miss Mar- 
garet Miller !" Whether so or not, such ambition was 
not to be gratified, for she married my tutor, the well- 
known John Breckenridge. The man who at that 
time exerted the most religious influence at Princeton, 
and since then, also, through his distinguished sons, 
was Professor Alexander. The theological professors 
used to preach in the college chapel, and I have often 
heard Dr. Alexander. A plainer, simpler, or more 
unpretending man you can scarcely find. To all ap- 
pearance — for 1 did not talk with him — he was the 
very man t<> represent in this age the plainness and 



Personal Memories. 97 



Simplicity of the apostles. I was not struck with his 
preaching, for he had no brilliancy and no artificial 
rhetoric. lie entered the pulpit, plain in garb and 
manner, and taking his text, talked on without form, 
and without uttering anything but the simple truth. 
I think he was not, with the students, a popular 
preacher, but the weight of his character, the sim- 
plicity of his manner, and the naked truth of his doc- 
trines produced then, as such qualities ever will, a 
profound influence upon the institution with which he 
was connected and the generation in which he lived. 
I believe he was quite a learned man, and is said to 
have read a great deal, and was acquainted with all 
modern books. Some one said to him : " Dr. Alex- 
ander, how do you manage to read so many books ?" 
He replied : " I do not read them through. I have 
learned to read only what is valuable. I look at the 
index, turn the pages rapidly, and by a glance at the 
paragraphs, can tell whether I want them." I have 
done the same thing, and thought it a good suggestion. 
In reading some novels lately, I found I could finish 
one in an afternoon or evening, and yet get all that 
was interesting in the book. Why should one be com- 
pelled to read the crudities of a novelist or the criti- 
cisms of a historian ; or why should one be obliged to 
wade through a mass of facts and thoughts he already 
knows, to get at a few things he does not know ? The 
impress of Dr. Alexander upon the country has, I 
think, been greater than that of some renowned states- 
men. 

Dr. Ashbel Green was then president of the col- 
lege, and a very able one he was, though never very 
popular; but he was better than that, very success- 



98 Personal Memories. 



ful. The president of a college does not need to be a 
very eloquent or very learned man. He needs to be 
dignified, impressive, and executive. He is, in fact, the 
executive officer. Dr. Green was, in all these particu- 
lars, admirably adapted to his place. He had been a 
chaplain in the Revolutionary army, I think, under 
"Washington. He had good address, and was a fine 
elocutionist. The actors, it was said, came sometimes 
to study his manner. At the time I was in college 
he had evidently less power and less ambition than 
he once had. Yet his Bacchalaureate addresses were 
very fine. He was a good classical writer, and one 
of his discourses was the best of its kind I ever 
heard. It was on "False Honor." It was strong 
in satire, truth, and elocpience. Dr. Green resigned 
when I graduated, although he lived many years af- 
terward and became quite an old man. One of his 
sons was professor of chemistry in the college ; an- 
other was an eminent lawyer of New Jersey; and the 
other day I was introduced to his grandson, an emi- 
nent lawyer of New York. 

Of my classmates I need say but little. One of 
them was Albert Dod, afterward professor of mathe- 
matics in the college, a man of genius and of worth. 
Another was James McCormick, my room-mate, a dis- 
tinguished lawyer of Harrisburg, now dead. An- 
other was James Alfred Pearce, of Maryland, long 
a representative and senator in congress from his 
stale, and one of the best that state ever had. A 
fourth was Richardson, attorney general of Mary- 
land. Of many I have known nothing since. 

At length the time came for me to graduate. At 
Trineeton they divide the distinguished graduates into 



Personal Memories. 00 

what are called " Honors," sometimes several having 
the same "Honor." The first " Honor" was given to 
me, Mr. Pearce, and Mr. Mearns, of Pennsylvania, 
who afterward became a clergyman. I believe the 
idea was that Mearns was best in the classics, Mr. 
Pearce in belles-lettres, and myself in science. It be- 
came my lot to speak the Latin salutatory, as it is 
called. \ r ou may depend I was puzzled, for this was 
not my forte, and I scarcely knew what to do. 

It was not uncommon — on the contrary quite com- 
mon — for the students to get their commencement 
orations written by others, and pay for them ; but 
that did not suit me. So I went home and went to 
work. I wrote a good oration in English, and then 
translated it into Latin, and finally my father, than 
whom I never knew a better scholar, wrote the ex- 
ordium and peroration, and you may depend they had 
the ore rotundo. When I came to speak it I was in 
fear and trembling. But I had one comfort, that if I 
happened to make a mistake or stumble not a soul in 
the audience would know what it was about. In 
looking back upon it, I think that to write a Latin 
oration, commit it to memory, and speak it without a 
blunder to a orcat audience of learned men and bright 
women, is, in relation to bis capacity, equal to one of 
the labors of Hercules. I got through quite credita- 
bly, and returned home with my honors fresh upon 
me. I left Princeton without much regret or affec- 
tion. But I have since learned to regard it more 
highly, for I have learned that it w T as one of the first 
institutions in the country where pure and undefiled 
religion — the religion of the cross — was taught with- 
out any mixture with the false philosophies or the 



TOO Personal Memories. 

corruptions of the world. There I received, perhaps 
not the first, hut the strongest of ray religious im- 
pressions. They have never left me, nor has the con- 
viction that those doctrines which are commonly un- 
derstood as Calvinistic, are the real doctrines of the 
cross, as interpreted by St. Paid, and now preached 
in the Evangelical churches. I have heard them 
preached in the Episcopal pulpits, as they have never 
been preached by Presbyterian ministers, and I will 
say here that, notwithstanding the outcry about secta- 
rianism, I never heard Presbyterianism, as such, 
preached at Princeton College. The doctrines of 
Alexander, Miller, Green, and Lindsley, were those of 
the Evangelical Church, preached in earnestness of 
spirit and simplicity of style. 

I returned home by stage to New Brunswick, and 
by steamboat to New York. So, you will understand, 
that at that time there was not a mile of railroad in 
the United States, nor was there any railroad of im- 
portance in the next ten years. It seems but yester- 
day since the first train of cars began to run, and 
now there are in this country 80,000 miles of railroad, 
half of all upon the earth. Such lias been, and is, 
the extraordinary range and whirling progress of this, 
our country. 

I remained at home the next ten months, and 
went to Litchfield in 1823, in the month of Juno. 
Those ten months at home was one of the happiest, 
and to, myself most profitable, periods of my life; 
and yet, you will see that, practically, as people so 
often speak, it was of no use. It was this : It had 
been decided that I was to be a lawyer, and, as I 
was to spend some months at home, 1 marked out 



Personal Memories. 101 

for myself a course of reading which I supposed was 
to be introductive to the law. I rend Hume's " En- 
gland," Vattel's "Laws of Nations," Rutherford's 
"Institutes," and intermixed it all with Madame de 
Stael's " Germany," and other French works. Of 
course I read Mrs. Radcliff's and Jane Porter's novels. 
I liked Hume and Vattel, but I reveled in the " Scot- 
tish Chiefs/' « The Romance of the Forest," " The 
Mysteries of Udolpho," and those wonderful sensa- 
tions which creep upon yon as you walk at midnight 
through the long corridors, hear the rattling of chains, 
and see the sheeted ghosts pass before you? I never 
despised such things, for sure I am that they are more 
entertaining, and, I believe, more useful, than modern 
philosophy, for they lead the mind from the dull cares 
of this earth to the dreams of joy, without debas- 
ing the intellect and without poisoning the soul. 

I said these studies and readings were not 
practically useful, and they were not, for in the 
practical affairs of life nothing is useful but what 
pertains to the business of the hour. When I 
think of these studies I think of Chesterfield's re- 
mark to Mr. Harris, on his entering parliament. 

Harris was an elegant writer on grammar and phi- 
losophy. He had written " Hermes," one of the most 
analytical and instructive works on the theory of gram- 
mar. Finally he was elected to parliament. When there 
he was introduced to Chesterfield, who said to him : 
"Mr. Harris, you have written books? You have writ- 
ten on grammar and philosophy." "Yes, my Lord." 
" Well, sir, what the devil has grammar and philoso- 
phy to do with the British Parliament?" 1 "Sure 

1 Adams' Correspondence. 



102 Personal Memories. 



enough ; and what have they to do with the American 
Congress?*' Chesterfield drew at once the distinction 
between mere men of business and men who are 
merely men of letters and of science. I said my 
reading in 1823 was not practically useful, and yet it 
was useful in the highest sense. It gave me a wide 
field of interesting thoughts, and strengthened my mind 
for other pursuits. 

Connected with the men and teachings of every 
college — especially of the old colleges — are its tradi- 
tions. From class to class, and generation to gener- 
ation, come down certain stories of men and ideas 
and customs, which illustrate the tones and ideas of 
those days. I will mention one or two, because they 
are connected at least by contrast with some ideas 
prevalent in the present time. In the beginning of 
the Revolution, Dr, Witherspoon was president of the 
college. lie was a great patriot, entered congress, 
and signed the Declaration of Independence. He was 
a Scotchman by birth, and a man of strong common 
sense, as well as sound principles. At that time the 
Berkleian theory of ideas was fashionable, which as- 
sumed that all external existences were ideal, and all 
objects were ideal. It was so much more dominant 
than materialism is now, that almost all the professors 
ami students adopted it. It is said, that Dr. Wither- 
spoon, finding it impossible to reason upon this subject 
logically with people whose minds were on fire with 
the ideal theory, entered the class-room one morning, 
and. in the course of his remarks, said: "Young 
getftlemen, it' you think there is nothing but ideas in 
the world, jus- go out on the campus and butt your 
bends against the college walls! You will at least 



Personal Memories. 103 

get an idea of matter." On another occasion, it is 
said, the students were at supper — then, as now, at 
long tables, with, a tutor presiding at each. There 
was one student of the senior class who did not be- 
lieve in the theory of ideas. They had hot mush and 
milk for supper, when all at once this student uttered 
a dreadful cry. Everybody started up to know what 
was the mutter. The student said : " Mr. Tutor, I ask 
your pardon. I have just swallowed a red-hot idea !" 
I do not say that such traditions as these are liter- 
ally true ; but I do say that they prove that different 
fashions of mind, as well as body and manners, pre- 
vail in different generations. While philosophy has 
neither limits nor foundations, and there are none, un- 
less the philosophy of Christianity be accepted, it 
must ever be the creature of imagination, of theory, 
of wild and exaggerated — however beautiful — dreams. 
The philosophy which assumes that all is ideal, is cer- 
tainly as acceptable and as probable as that which as- 
sumes that all is matter. The philosophy which as- 
sumes that there is a God, and He governs this uni- 
verse by His will, whether it be bj' natural or super- 
natural laws, is certainly as probable as that matter 
made itself, and then holds itself together. The fash- 
ion of this world passeth away. 



104 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Again at West Point — Reading, History, and Interna- 
tional Law — A Party — Distinguished Visitors — De 
Witt Clinton — Dr. Mitchell — Eliza Leslie— Mrs. 
Emma Willard — Percical the Poet — Female Educa- 
tion — Sally Pierce — Nathaniel Carter — Colonel Stone 
— Percical at Midnight. 

I write to-day from the summit of the geological 
island of which Mount Auburn is the center. Look- 
ing to the north at the Widows' Home, you see in the 
distance apparently a range of hills, while immedi- 
ately beyond the Home is a valley. Beginning on 
the Miami, at the mouth of Duck creek, and pursuing 
its little vale, you will arrive at. Mill creek, and theuce 
by its valley on the Ohio again. Ou the space within 
are Walnut Hills, Mount Auburn, and Clifton, em- 
bracing one of the most beautiful suburban districts 
to be found in the United States. West of it, on Mill 
creek, is that Ludlow Station, which was my earliest 
remembered home. Nowhere have I seen more beau- 
tiful views and richer landscapes than those which 
surround Cincinnati. In the midst of them we are 
now placed. Sixty-five years ago, I was a boy soli- 
tary, reading the life of Napoleon, who was then at 
the height of his glory, and trying to amuse myself 
with quail traps (set where Spring Grove Cemetery 
is), and raising white ducks in Mill creek. That 
scene seems real, but shadowed with a dim mist. 



Personal Memories. 105 

which takes away the sharpness of the outlines, hut 
leaves a solid reality behind. 

I must now return to Princeton, and ask you to go 
with me in what may be called a little episode to my 
Princeton life. I left Princeton in the autumn, and 
it had been determined that I should be a laAvyer. It 
was thought best that I should commence my studies 
at Litchfield, where I was to go the next summer. 
My parents were doubtless willing to see a little 
more of me than they had recently done, and besides 
there was a practical advantage in being able to read 
works of general history and jurisprudence, which 
few young men can spare the time to do. So my 
plan was soon marked out, and I never regretted it. 
It was a part of education which few can get, but 
which none can be thoroughly educated without. I 
determined to take the forenoon of each day to read 
history, the laws of nations, and general jurispru- 
dence, leaving the latter part of the day to society 
and amusement. Notwithstanding I was wholly un- 
restricted as to what I should or should not do, yet I 
pursued this plan strictly and most profitably. About 
eight months of time was passed in this kind of study. 
During that time, Hume's History, Robertson's Intro- 
duction, VattePs Law of Nations, Rutherford's Insti- 
tutes, Beccaria, and other works, which were historical 
and legal, I read with the greatest interest, and in re- 
gard to my intellectual advancement, with great ad- 
vantage. This course, as was all that I ever after 
pursued, I chose myself, and I can not at this day see 
that I could have chosen any better. The simple fact 
is that after a school or college has given a young 
person what may be called the tools of education — 



106 Personal Memories. 



that is, the elementary studies — all the rest must be 
of their own making. People talk of "self-educa- 
tion ;" but all education which is practically useful 
for either mind or business, must be self-directed. It 
is in vain to force any young person to pursuits for 
which they have no taste and to ends for which they 
have no ambition. The law, or medicine, or mer- 
chandise may be pursued profitably without any 
scholastic education, except mere details of business. 
Hence, as the love of money and the necessity for 
means of sustenance are almost universal, three- 
fourths of those engaged in those professions have no 
regular or complete education. Hence, also, when 
persons of this kind are very successful in their busi- 
ness, the newspapers say they were " self-educated." 
As an evidence of industry or sagacity, this is well 
enough. But there is no man among them, who, for 
the happiness and influence of his life would not have 
been better off if he had been better educated. It is 
not true that the educated, cultivated men are not 
" self-educated " also. When the young man leaves 
college, henceforward his education is his own — self- 
directed and self-made. Here it is that we see the 
development of natural tastes, whether it be to self- 
cultivation or the mere pursuit of business. Although 
the great body of college graduates enter what are 
called the learned professions, not more than one- 
fourth have the taste or the ambition to pursue sci- 
ence, learning, or literature beyond the mere wants 
of their professions. Those who do find their reward, 
if riot in place or wealth, at least in the advancement 
of their minds, or in the happiness of a self-cultivated 
life. 



Personal Memories. 107 



While I was thus pursuing my literary and legal 
studies, I was also gaining a knowledge of society, 
and that of the best kind the country could afford. 
My father, as the principal professor at West Point, 
received letters of introduction brought by cadets 
from all parts of the country. Their parents or 
friends also came to the Point quite often to see the 
young men. New York was near, and the distin- 
guished men there also frequently visited this place. 
Many public characters came there, and most of them 
found their way at some time to our house. My 
mother was a fine talker, and hospitable, so many of 
these persons used to call at our house and talk with 
her, and occasionally she gave an evening party. 
Thus I came to see and know something of many 
men and women who came to be distinguished in the 
country, and some of whom were in themselves very 
interesting people. I was afterward, between 1822 
and 1825, often at home, seeing and enjoying much 
of this kind of society. Without referring to a par- 
ticular date or occasion, I will here briefly describe 
some of these persons. Many of them are almost 
forgotten now, but they were marked persons at that 
time. 

First among these was Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, 
whom I saw one evening in a party at our house, and who 
was really a remarkable man, though, for some peculiar- 
ities, often laughed at. lie was, at one time, United 
States Senator from New York, but that was the 
least of his distinctions. He was chiefly known as a 
naturalist (being a pioneer, in this country, of that 
department of learning), and was in fact a learned man. 
lie was very fond of natural history, and taught the 



108 Personal Memories. 



public mind many things which now.seem very sim- 
ple. There was quite a controversy in the newspa- 
pers because Mitchell said, in some statement, that a 
whale was not a fish. The public took it for granted 
that anything which swam in water was a fish. A 
whale is no more a fish than a bird. The whale 
belono-s to the class of mammalia. It was on account 
of some of his natural-history peculiarities, and other 
what are called " notions," that the wags, often very 
ignorant of such things, made fun of him. He in- 
sisted upon calling the United States "Fredonia," be- 
cause . " Columbia" was wrong. Columbus did not 
discover the United States, and "States" did not 
mean anything ; but Fredonia would signify the land 
of freedom. Some wit, in reference to these pecu- 
liarities, wrote a bagatelle, in which was this: 
"Of all the birds and fishes rarest, 
Fredonian Mitchell is the queerest. 

Dr. Mitchell was a large, portly man, full of conver- 
sation ; and, as I remember, on that evening very 
complimentary to the ladies. 

Another man, whom the world will not forget so 
soon was De Witt Clinton. He was occasionally at 
West Point; and no man of that period is, or ought 
to be, better remembered. For twenty years De Witt 
Clinton was the bright particular star on the hori- 
zon of New York politics, whose light also extended 
to other and remote parts of this country. Clinton 
had the honor of doing one great thing, and that is 
what nine-tenths even of the greatest statesmen can 
not say. In England and this country men have risen 
to tin- highest places, and have been regarded as great 
statesmen, without having accomplished even one 



Personal Memories. 109 



great original work. They have risen by force of 
talent, or opportunity, or achievements in war; but 
not by having suggested or done a single really great 
thing. Of all our presidents, an examination will 
show that three only, Washington, Jefferson, and 
Lincoln, actually did, in and of themselves person- 
ally, an original work. De Witt Clinton had as much 
talent as either of them, and more cultivation, lie was 
much better educated than Washington or Lincoln, 
and was quite as good a writer as Jefferson. As a 
literary production, his oration at the anniversary of 
Union College, IS". Y., is equal to anything produced 
by our public men, unless it is some of the addresses 
of John Quincy Adams. 

De Witt Clinton was in person remarkably hand- 
some and dignified. He was portly, with a ruddy 
complexion and high forehead. His address was po- 
lite and pleasant, without inviting to any familiarity. 
He appeared to a mere bystander rather stiff; but not 
enough so to be haughty and uncourteous. In fact his 
dignified manner, as compared with the frank, bluff 
address of many public men, was used against him by 
the petty politicians of the day. The one great 
thing, which I said Clinton did, was the Erie Canal. 
That was carried through by his talent and popularity. 

He always had a band of choice friends around 
him, but the current of the public mind, and es- 
pecially of the party which afterward became domi- 
nant under the lead of Van Buren, was against him. 
They represented the enterprise as a " big ditch," to 
float mud-scows. It was the turning point in regard to 
the present enterprise and improvement of this country. 
If the construction of the Erie canal had been delayed 



110 Personal Memories. 



for several years, the physical improvement of the 
whole county would have been delayed as much. A 
canal, however great and however important it is at 
this day, was not, in itself, of so great magnitude; 
hut it was the initial step in those vast improvements 
which the country has since made. At the head of 
this great enterprise, and at the head of all the states- 
men who have since promoted the improvement of the 
country, stood De Witt Clinton, and I may add, he was 
the head of the really American statesmen. The only 
mau who could compete with him on the same level 
of ideas and sentiments was Henry Clay. Three 
years after this I had an opportunity of seeing those 
statesmen together. Ohio adopted the policy of Clin- 
ton, and made her own great canal. In July, 1825, 
the first ground for the Ohio canal was broken, near 
Middlctown, by Governor Morrow and De Witt Clin- 
ton. A few days after Mr. Clay was detained at Leba- 
non by the sickness of his child, and Mr. Clinton also 
arrived. My friend, Dr. Drake, and I traveling with 
him, were there also. A dinner was given to the dis- 
tinguished strangers by the people of Lebanon, when 
I saw three men, really great in their daj T . I was 
not much struck by anything said or done, but I re- 
member the different impressions made upon me and 
Dr. Drake by these very different men. Dr. Drake, 
himself an impulsive Western man, preferred Mr. 
Clay, especially for his ready address, his off-hand 
manner, his dash, and force. Mr. Clinton, he thought 
heavy, on account of his slow and dignified address. 
There was, in fact, however, little comparison to he 
made between the two men. After allowing for all 
l he impulse, and eloquence, and pleasant address of 



Personal Memories. Ill 



Mr. Clay, he fell far short of the high culture, the 
well-armed and vigorous mind of Do Witt Clinton. 
A finished education and the culture of letters may 
not make a great man, but the want of them will leave 
the finest intellect in the world defective and deficient. 
In three years, Mr. Clinton, in apparently the vigor 
of life, had passed from the stage of human action. 
He was not a mere comet, suddenly flashing, dazzling, 
and disappearing; nor was he a fixed star, but rather 
a planet, which, for some unknown reason, left our 
system before its career was finished. 

I turn now to another person, who was the very 
opposite of Clinton. This was Eliza Leslie, a wo- 
man with but common education, and occupying no 
public station. Miss Leslie was, nevertheless, a very 
interesting person. She was often at our house, and 
I would sit and listen, with pleased interest, to the 
conversation between her and my mother. Both 
were the best of talkers, and their strong minds 
never wanted a subject to discuss. Miss Leslie's mind 
was not very broad, and her chief topics were those 
relating to society, manners, customs, ways of doing, 
dress, and character. In these she took great interest, 
and she was mistress of the subject. She moved in 
the best society of Philadelphia, and had strong social 
tastes. She wrote a series of stories, of which, " Mrs. 
Washington Potts" was the principal, and which, at 
the time, were very popular. I thought they had 
merit, Her talk and her stories were exactly alike, 
showing great knowledge of society, and flowing on, 
in a clear and animated style. Eliza Leslie is now 
best known as the author of a " Cuok-Book," which I 
imagine must have been very successful, as it has kept 



112 Personal Memories. 



the stage for many years. Toward the close of her 
life, she undertook to write the life of John Fitch, the 
supposed steamboat inventor, but the book was never 
published. There was a curious piece of history 
about this. Neither Fitch nor Fulton was the originator 
of steamboats. David Rumsey, a native of A^irginia, 
was the first who launched a steamboat, and that was 
on the waters of the Potomac, about the year 1787. 
Mr. James, of Chillicothe, told me he was acquainted 
with this fact. Some five or six years after that John 
Fitch put a steamboat on the Delaware, at Philadel- 
phia, and succeeded, and my father saw his boat mov- 
ing. But neither Rumsey nor Fitch succeeded in the 
practical part of making such a boat as would be 
profitable. This honor was reserved for Robert Ful- 
ton. So, Fitch, being neither the original, nor the suc- 
cessful one, in this undertaking, could not be lauded 
as the author of the steamboat. Perhaps, for this 
reason, she gave up the undertaking. She was of 
rather a remarkable family. Charles Leslie, the great 
painter, was her brother; General Leslie, w r ho recently 
died in New York, was another, and one of her sis- 
ters married one of the Careys, so long distinguished 
as book publishers. 

I will now introduce you to another lady, whom the 
world has not forgotten, who lives in the memory of 
thousands of women, and who, perhaps, will be re- 
membered as long as any woman of her time. This 
was Mrs. Emma VTillard. History may preserve 
royal names, and the poetry of Mrs. Hemans may 
live, but none of them could have impressed their 
powers and minds on so many thousands as the 
founder of Troy Seminary; the educator of thous- 



Personal Memories. 113 



ands of women, and the author of those inimitable 

Btanzas : 

" Rocked in the cradle of the deep." 

Emma Hart, which was her maiden name, was born 
in Berlin, Connecticut. She married Doctor Willard, 
of Vermont, who was a man of strong sense, and 
though with none of the flashing spirit of his wife, 
seems not to have impeded but rather aided and 
encouraged her in her plans for female education, 
for it was in her married life in Vermont that she 
began to form these plans tor a higher and better 
culture for women. Subsequently she removed to 
Albany, jSTew York, laid her plans before the legis- 
lature and the people, and succeeded in getting aid 
from the people of Troy, so that in a short time she 
established that great seminary for girls, which con- 
tinued half a century, and was the model on which 
similar institutions have been built. But in saying 
this, I must also do justice to another person whom I 
know, and who preceded Mrs. Willard in what is 
called a female school proper. This was Miss Sally 
Pierce, of Litchfield, Connecticut. It must not he 
supposed that Mrs. "Willard was the first person to set 
up a female school, any more than we are to suppose 
our grandmothers were without education. Somehow, 
and in some w T ay, they got an education suitable to 
ladies in their generation. Where the celebrated Mrs. 
Goodrich got her education I do not know, but certain 
it is that she and others, like the Edwards and Dwights, 
would shine in any circle of ladies at this day. At 
that time, however, the education aimed at was not to 
advance the mind in higher cultures so much as to 
shine in society. In New England of that day no 



114 Personal Memories. 



useful art in housekeeping was likely to be neglected ; 
but, between these useful arts, and that of shining ad- 
dress, there seems to have been little or none of that 
solid intellectual education which is given now. The 
idea of highest female education seems to have been 
that of address and refinement. It may be illustrated 
by an anecdote told of the eccentric Judge Brecken- 
ridge, of Pittsburg. It is said that, attending court in 
one of the mountain counties of Pennsylvania, he 
noticed a handsome, well-formed girl, who proved to 
be the daughter of the landlord, who took his horse, 
watered him, and iu returning jumped over a five- 
barred gate. He was so struck by the girl that he 
determined, other things being inquired into, to make 
her his wife. But to do this it was neccessary to have 
her educated, that the native diamond might be polished 
into form and brilliancy. So he took her to a lady in 
Philadelphia, renowned for her fashionable education 
of girls. He stated his object, and the lady said: 
" What will you have her taught?" " Madame, ' Dress 
and address.' ' " Sir, it shall be done." And it was 
done. The lady became an elegant and accomplished 
woman. That was undoubtedly the common idea of 
the day, when anything was meant beyond the com- 
mon elements of education. There were, however, 
long before Mrs. "Willard's time, schools in which 
young women were educated to perform well all the 
useful, practical duties of life. One of these was, as I 
have said, that of Miss Sally Pierce, of Litchfield, Con- 
nect ieut, which was in the full tide of success when I 
entered the law school in 1823. It had then, I think, 
been in existence tor more than twenty years. I men- 
tion this because eminent as were the services of Mrs. 



Personal Memories. 115 

Willard in this course of education, it would be wrong 
to suppose that she alone inaugurated the system of 
more advanced female education. Mrs. Willard was 
an intimate friend of my mother, aud a teacher of her 
daughter. Hence she was often at our home, and I 
saw much of her. She was a woman of genius, hand- 
some, dignified, and commanding in presence, of most 
genial and pleasant manners, quick and ready in con- 
versation, and, in one word, attractive in society, and 
amiable in conduct. I said she was a woman of genius, 
and that is a very rare quality. She wrote on various 
subjects, and wrote well. Besides essays on female 
education, and the hymn " Rocked in the Cradle of the 
Deep," she wrote a medical disquisition on the cholera, 
which she sent to me. It contained the most novel 
rnd ingenious ideas, but passed for little with the 
medical fraternity. 

Among other traits of her character, she was fond of 
humor, and was a good teller of anecdotes. I will relate 
two or three little stories which I heard from her. 
"There was an old clergyman living noar her place, 
quite remarkable for eccentric ideas and sayings. 
Among other things he was very literal in his way of 
applying ideas. On one occasion, immediately after 
the election of Jefferson, he being a Federalist, and a 
detester of Jefferson, was, as in duty bound, praying 
for the president, when he said: 'And now, Lord, bless 
thy servant Jefferson, for, Lord, thou knowest he needs 
it.' Among other curious ways, he was in the habit 
of asking a blessing on each particular thing on the 
table. At breakfast there was some bear meat (bears 
being then common in Vermont, and he abhorring it), 
when he prayed : ' Lord bless the coffee, bless the bread 



11G Personal Memories. 

and butter, but as to this bear meat, Lord, I don't know 
what to say!' " 

There was another story told by Mrs. Willafd, the 
force of which, as told by her, can not be put on paper, 
but you will see the point. There had been an affray 
among some men in which one was hurt. A trial took 
place, in which the object was to find out who hurt 
the man, and Salstonstall was supposed to be the wrong- 
doer. One of the witnesses was up, who was supposed 
to know. " Well, what was Salstonstall doing?" " Oh, 
he was slashing around." " Well, what is that ?" " He 
was just knocking about him here and there." " What 
did he do to this man ?" " Why, he enticed him." u En- 
ticed him, how?" " Oh, he enticed him with a crow- 
bar — so!" And Mrs. Willard enacted the crowbar 
scene. 

Mrs. Willard died in ripe years, surrounded by her 
friends, in the faith of a Christian, and the conscious- 
ness of a well-acted life. 

Another person we at that time saw something of, 
was Nathaniel Carter, author of "Letters from Eu- 
rope," and editor of the New York Statesman. His 
letters from Europe were at that time very interest- 
ing ; for few Americans then knew much about Europe, 
and Mr. Carter was a close observer, and a literary 
man, with a pleasant style, putting things in^an at- 
tractive form. His paper, the Statesman, was well ed- 
ited, and Clintonian in politics, showing, as many 
other things did, how the high qualities and command- 
ing character of He Witt Clinton drew literary men 
around him. 

Mr. Carter was in ill-health, and died comparatively 
young ; one of those who, by dying in their prime, with 









Personal Memories. 117 

a life unfilled and with much promise, are a real loss 
to their generation. 

Another person occasionally at the " Point," was 
Col. William L. Stone, editor of the JSew York Com- 
mercial Advertiser. He was the author of the " Life of 
Brandt," the celebrated Indian chief, Thayendinega. 
He is the first man who seems to have got an idea of 
the modern art of making a profitable newspaper. If 
you take up a newspaper of the old school, two gen- 
erations since, you will find that nothing conld be 
more dry or inane. The ship news, the historical facts 
of the day, and some political abuse, with the adver- 
tisements, made up nearly all of it. It was seldom 
that society, science, or literature had any representa- 
tion. Of course, there were exceptions to this. Here 
and there a man got into a newspaper, who had some 
idea that society would be interested in itself, and 
would like to see the movements of the great world 
around. But these were the exceptions. The great 
body of newspapers w T ere dry enough. I said Col. 
Stone began to have an idea of the modern newspaper, 
because of an incident which happened while I was 
there. While Stone was visiting the " Point," for a 
day or two, an Irish woman, for some trouble, threw 
herself off the high rocks near Kosciusko's monu- 
ment, and, of course, was killed instantly. It was a 
striking incident, but Stone immediately dressed it up, 
with a tale of romance, and extraordinary misfortunes, 
and it appeared in his paper as an extraordinary 
drama. When my mother saw it, who saw in the 
affair only the simple fact of a half-crazed woman 
killing herself, she looked upon Col. Stone as a fabu- 
lous story-teller. But in this Stone only exhibited one 



118 Personal Memories. 



of the signs of the coming newspaper; when crimes and 
accidents should he reported not only in the fullness of 
detail, but in exaggerated imagery. This is one of the 
arts of a newspaper; but, happily, the newspaper has 
now a better side than that. It is now a fair repre- 
sentative of the good as well as the evil of society. 
Society loves to look upon itself, and thinks, to use a 
classic sentiment, that nothing is foreign to itself 
which is common to human nature. 

It was, I think, about this time, that James G. Per- 
cival (the poet) held, for a short period, the post of 
professor of chemistry. He was occasionally a vis- 
itor at our house, and I saw something, though not 
much, of this singular man. Singular he was, in his 
genius, learning, character, and manners. Not much 
of this would be visible in ordinary company; and 
there, he seemed nothing extraordinary, except a very 
evident retiring, shrinking manner, the outward sem- 
blance of that unfortunate trait of character which 
marred much of his life. This was a remarkable diffi- 
dence. It is said that his friends, to help him, had 
instituted a course of lectures at Charleston (S. C), 
which were likely to be profitable, and the room was 
crowded when Percival, from mere bashfuluess, ran 
away, and the lectures were not delivered. He 
sought society very little, and seemed to learn very 
little of it. Yet, Percival was a learned man, and 
America has produced few so eminent in knowledge 
as he. Being essentially a student, his studies and ac- 
quirements extended to various branches, especially 
languages and natural history. Once, at our house, 
he told us that lie knew twelve languages, and, I 
think, spoke ten of them. Latin, Greek, and Sanscrit 



Personal Memories. 119 

as well as French, Spanish, German, and Italian, were 
familiar to him. In addition to that, he knew the 
languages of the North of Europe, and what few per- 
sons do the Slavonic tongues. He made some trans- 
lations of Slavonic poetry. I saw, in a biographical 
history, this statement, that Percival had made some 
translations of Slavonic poetry with all the spirit and 
reality of the original, and that this could not be, for 
he conld not have been so very familiar with the or- 
iginal ; but I think he was, for he seized upon all 
languages, and all poetry, as if he had been born 
to them. In natural sciences, chemistry, geology, and 
kindred subjects, he was at home. He was a short 
time professor of chemistry at West Point, and died, 
I think, while geologist of Wisconsin. Percival was 
a man of real genius, but seemed almost a stranger in 
society. He was never married, and it was said, as it 
frequently is in such cases, that he had an early dis- 
appointment in love, of which nothing now can be 
known. I do n't think he had any horror of young 
ladies, for he was a visitor at our house, when my 
sister was young and thought beautiful. I remem- 
ber one evening, in the early part of summer, the 
month of roses, Percival was at our house and exhib- 
ited the true character of a poet, something to the an- 
noyance of poor human nature. The evening had 
passed in conversation, when, at ten o'clock, my fa- 
ther, as he invariably did, retired. Soon after, my 
mother, quite unusual for her, stepped out, too. Per- 
cival, my sister, and myself, were left in the parlor. 
The lights were dim, but the moon cast its silver rays 
through the window, which probably suggested an 
idea to the poet. He began to describe a visit to M- 



120 Personal Memories. 



agara by moonlight; the heauty which shone from 
rocks and waters; and, finally, what certainly must 
Lave been a beautiful phenomenon — a rainbow under 
the Falls of Niagara ! All this was in the highest de- 
gree poetic and interesting; but, alas! never did I 
have such a time to keep awake. The spirit was 
willing, but the flesh was weak. This is a very good 
illustration of Solomon's saying, there is a time for all 
things; and never let poet or orator throw away their 
eloquence upon sleepy people. I cast away all poetry, 
and said to myself, Oh, for oue hour of 

" Tired nature's sweet restorer — balmy sleep." 

I did not know a great deal of Dr. Percival, but 
what I have said here is exactly correct. He, like Mrs. 
TVillard was born in the little town of Berlin (Conn.), 
from, which have come others of that high, spiritual 
cast, who seem to have shed the light of genius over 
this dull, plodding world. 

On inquiring for the poems of Percival, I found 
them out of print. This is due, no doubt, to the 
fart that he wrote no long, elaborate poems. But 
there are, among his fugitive pieces, some which de- 
serve immortality; and there will come a time when 
the gatherer of literary remains will place them higher 
than many of those which are now talked about. 

I have now finished the account of, so far as I can 
remember it, one of the most profitable and interest- 
ing periods of my life. I only regret that in this half 
century which followed, there were only two periods 
in which 1 saw so much of genius, so much of that in- 
tellectual Life, which seems to shine upon and beautify 
the materialism of the world. The social history of 



Personal Memories. 121 



both England and America shows that there are times 
and circles of life in which there is a sort of shining 
forth of light, which seems almost to set lire to the 
mind of the day, and be felt in after history. Of this, 
I shall show you more hereafter. 



122 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER JX. 

Litchfield — Law School — Noted Men — Judge Reeve — 
Judge Gould — Anecdotes — Uriah Tracey — John Pier- 
point — The Wolcotts — The Dcmings — Col. Tall- 
madge — Talk with Governor Wolcott — Connecticut 
Politics — The Seymours — Dr. Sheldon — Mode of 
Life — Dr. Beecher. 

It was about the middle of June, 1823, that my 
father and I drove up to Grove Catlin's tavern, on the 
"Green," of Litchfield, Connecticut. It was one of 
the most beautiful days of the year, and just before 
sunset. The scene was most striking. Litchfield is 
on a hill, about one thousand feet above the sea, and 
having fine scenery on every side. On the west rises 
"Mount Tom," a dark, frowning peak; in the south- 
west, "Bantam Lake," on whose shores I have often 
walked and ridden. In the north and east other 
ridges rolled away in the distance, and so, from Litch- 
field Hill, there is a varied and delightful prospect. 
One of the first objects which struck my eyes was in- 
teresting and picturesque. This was a long procession 
of school girls, coming down North street, walking 
under the lofty elms, and moving to the music of a 
flute and flageolet. The girls were gayly dressed and 
evidently enjoying their evening parade, in this most 
balmy season of the year. It was the school of Miss 
Sally Pierce, whom I have mentioned before, as one 
of the earliest and best of the pioneers in American 






Personal Memories. 123 

female education. That scene has never faded from 
ray memory. The beauty of nature, the loveliness of 
the season, the sudden appearance of this school of 
girls, all united to strike and charm the mind of a 
young man, who, however varied his experience, had 
never beheld a scene like that. In the evening my 
father and myself walked up to the home of Judge 
Gould, who was to be my future preceptor. The 
judge was a handsome man, a very able lawyer, with 
a keen and superior mind, subtle, discriminating, and 
yet clear as crystal. His treatise on " Pleading," 
which was one of the law titles upon which he lec- 
tured to our class, is the ablest law book there is ex- 
tant. My father was acquainted with him, and it was 
soon announced that I should enter as a law student, 
and, as it turned out, my residence in Litchfield con- 
tinued the next two years, and I was admitted to the 
bar by the county court of Litchfield, in June, 1825. 
The next morning my father introduced me to Gov- 
ernor Wolcott, and my room and board were arranged 
for at Mrs. Lord's, whose house was just across the 
street from Dr. Lyman Beecher's, then pastor of the 
Litchfield Congregational Church. As my residence 
at Litchfield w r as one of the most important periods 
of my life, and, as I was there introduced into a so- 
ciety, of which this country has had none superior, I 
will state something of the growth and character of 
Litchfield before I was there. Litchfield waa settled 
nearly a hundred years after the first settlement of 
New Haven, and chiefly by immigrants from Hartford. 
The Wolcott family early came there, and they and 
their connections were among the must distinguished 
people in the state. Three successive Wolcotts were 



124 Personal Memories. 

governors of the state, the second being one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the 
third the successor of Hamilton, as secretary of the 
treasury, in the administration of Washington. This 
was the one then living in Litchfield. Then there were 
the Tallmadges, the Seymours, the Buells, with Tracy 
and others, who had made Litchfield noted for talent 
and social aristocracy long before I came there. Many 
striking anecdotes were told of the men and women 
of the former days, which still lingered in tradition. 
Two or three are worth preserving, because they at- 
test to a wit far superior to what we have now. 

Uriah Tracy, who lived at Litchfield, was a very 
Superior man, and noted for wit. He was United 
States Senator, from Connecticut, in the time of Wash- 
ington and Adams, and to him are attributed, whether 
true or not, some of the sharpest sayings of that day. 
It is said that he was standing on the steps of the 
Capitol, which you know looks down Pennsylvania 
avenue, when a drove of mules was coming up. Ran- 
dolph, who was standing by him, said : " There, Tracy, 
are some of vour constituents!'' "Yes, sir;" said 
Tracy, " they are going to Virginia, to keep school." 
At another time Tracy was standing by the British 
Ambassador, in one of those receptions which Hunt- 
ington has so well depicted, in what he calls the " Court 
of Washington," in the midst of which Mrs. Goodrich 
appears as one of the characters. This lady was, I 
think, of the Wolcott family, and distinguished for 
beauty, grace, and manners. The ambassador was 
much struck by the appearance of Mrs. Goodrich, 
and exclaimed : " By George", Tracy, Mrs. Goodrich 
would be di tinguished in the Court of England!" 



Personal Memories. 125 



"Yes, sir;" said Tracy, bowing, "she is distinguished 
even on Litchfield Hill !" Tracy was right, tor, to be 
admired in the society of Litchfield, at that time, 
would have required talents and graces sufficient to se- 
cure distinction in any court of the world. But, all 
this is gone, and nothing can illustrate the evanescent 
state of our society more than the changes which it has 
undergone in many of the old places in the old states. 
However excellent or able may be the people who live 
in Litchfield now, there is no such social glory, no 
such marked superiority there, as that which distin- 
guished the noted people of Litchfield in the genera- 
tion just passing away, when I came upon the stage. 
The change in people, manners, and conditions is 
quite as great as the change in the dress of gentlemen. 
When I was a law student, a few old gentlemen still 
retained the dress of the Revolution. It was a pow- 
dered queue, white-topped boots, silk stockings, and 
breeches with buckles. I can remember to have seen 
David Daggett, chief justice, and a half dozen others, 
walking in the streets with this dignified dress. It is 
in vain to say that the present dress is at all equal to 
it — in what ought to be one of the objects of good 
dress — to give an idea of dignity and respect. The 
man who is now inside of a plain black dross, with 
unpretending boots, may be as good a man, as able a 
man, as he in white-topped boots and breeches, but he 
is not respected as much, for he no longer assumes as 
much. In ceasing to claim the superiority due to 
high social position, he has lost a part of his own self- 
respect. He has become only one of a multitude in- 
stead of being one above a multitude. 

But I must hasten on. Perhaps you will like to 



126 Personal Memories. 

know how the day passed with a law student, in a 
school and place which has furnished many a great 
man to this nation. My room, at Mrs. Lord's, was in 
the northwest corner of a large house, and, from its 
windows, I looked, on one side, over at Dr. Beecher's 
house, and, from another, west, to "Mount Tom." 
From the rooms of my fellow-students, on the south side, 
might be seen Bantam Lake, and the distant ridges and 
blue skies in the south. It was a pleasant house, and a 
good landlady, and to Mrs. Lord I was indebted for 
many an act of kindness. She was the widow of 
Sheriff Lord, the mother of Mrs. Pierpoint, wife of 
the celebrated poet and minister. Pierpoint was 
a noted Unitarian ; but Mrs. Lord was a member 
of Dr. Beecher's church. The Pierpoints came from 
what was called " South Farms," a part of Litchfield 
township, on the road to New Haven. The father of 
John Pierpoint was a deacon in the orthodox Congre- 
gational church ; but the poet, for some reason, wan- 
dered off and became a noted Unitarian, having at one 
time a congregation in Boston. Whatever else may 
have been his qualifications, he was a real poet, and 
also a wit. I have always thought that some parts of 
his "Airs of Palestine" were among the best speci- 
mens of American poetry. It is unfortunate that so 
many line pieces of poetry are likely to be lost, because 
they are iorgotten, and are only preserved in collec- 
tions, which themselves are likely to be ephemeral. 
lint I will return to my day in the law school. We 
breakfasted from seven to eight in the morning, and 
at nine o'clock went to the lecture-room to hear and 
take notes ol' Judge Gould's lecture. The founder of 
the Litchfield Law School was Judge Tapping Rseve; 



Personal Memories. 127 

and, if tradition is correct, few better men have ever 
lived, and scarcely any one was then better known to 
the bar. He was the author of a Treatise on Domes- 
tic Relations, which the lawyers admired, but said was 
not law, on account, I believe, of its leaning too much 
to women's rights, a fault which would not be found 
with it in this day. At the time I arrived in Litch- 
field, Judge Reeve had given up the law school to 
Judge Gould, who had been his partner, and he soon 
after died. He was a man rather noted for eccentrici- 
ties. After the death of his first wife, he married his 
housekeeper — a most respectable woman, however, dis- 
tinguished for piety and. benevolence. He was quite 
absent-minded, and one day he was seen walking up 
North street, with a bridle in his hand, but without his 
horse, which had quietly slipped out and walked off. 
The judge calmly fastened the bridle to a post, and 
walked into the house, oblivious of any horse. It was 
under the teaching of Judge Reeve that such men as 
John 0. Calhoun and John M. Clayton, of Delaware, 
were law students. The school was now under the 
sole care of Judge Gould. At nine o'clock we stu- 
dents walked to the lecture-room, with our note-books 
under our arms. We had desks, with pen and ink, to 
record the important principles and authorities. The 
practice of Judge Gould was to read the principle 
from his own manuscript twice distinctly, pausing be- 
tween, and repeating in the same manner the leading 
cases. Then we had time to note down the principle 
and cases. The remarks and illustrations we did not 
note. After the lecture we had access to a law library 
to consult authorities. The lecture and references took 
about two hours. Those of us who were in earnest, 



128 Personal Memories. 



of whom I was one, immediately returned home, and 
copied out into our lecture-books all the principles and 
cases. My lecture-books made five volumes. The lec- 
tures, the references, and the copying took me, on an 
average, from nine o'clock until three or four o'clock, 
with the intermission of near an hour for dinner. I 
did not then, as I do not now, study or write in tlie 
evening. Of course there were some exceptions. 1 
regard night work, in which nine-tenths of students 
indulge, as injurious to the health and even to the 
mind. Still, as man is an omnivorous animal, so he 
may be as capable of choosing all times as he is of all 
meats. 

From five to six hours a day employed in this man- 
ner was my regular work at Litchfield, and very 
seldom was a day missed. At four o'clock in the 
afternoon I was generally at leisure, and that was 
usually employed in walking or riding — sometimes in 
visiting. At Mrs. Lord's were six of us ; two from 
Georgia; one each from New York, Pennsylvania, 
and Massachusetts, and myself. We often rode in the 
afternoons, and the vicinity of Litchfield affords the 
most beautiful rides I have ever seen. A rolling coun- 
try, on high ground, with here and there a mountain 
top or a little lake, and rapid, pure streams of water, 
nature presented most various and lovely pictures of 
beauty. We prolonged our rides in summer time, 
having taken an early tea, into the starlit shades of 
night. In the long days of summer, no candles were 
lit. in the farm-houses of Connecticut. When the deep 
twilight came, every family had gone to rest as com- 
pletely as the chickens to their roosts; but, when the 
dawn of day came, they were up; and when we lazy 



Personal Memories. 129 



students were at breakfast, they had done hours of 
work. Such were the Connecticut farmers of that day. 
It was commonly my practice to walk in the after- 
noons of summer, and the opportunities for pleasant 
walking were, like those of riding, very good and 
tempting. Litchfield, like many New England towns, 
was built chiefly on two main streets, one going north 
and south, and the other east and west, and the whole 
on a hill or ridge, with Bantam river running on the 
east and another stream on the west. North and South 
street was more than a mile in length, shaded nearly 
its whole length by those lofty and broad-spreading 
elms for which some of the towns in Connecticut were 
noted. In the warm days of summer, and in those 
beautiful and cloudless sunsets, like the day in which 
I had first seen it, most of the young people would 
be on the streets, and among them those of the stu- 
dents who, like myself, were lovers of beauty and of 
scenery. Owing to my introduction to society, which is 
always a great benefit to young men of any sense, I 
was soon acquainted with the best families, and my 
afternoon walks, as well as my evening visits, often led 
me among those distinguished in beauty, grace, and 
position. One of my temptations to an afternoon walk 
was to meet the girls, who, like ourselves, were often 
seen taking their daily walk. Among these, were the 
Wolcotts, the Demings, the Tallmadges, the Landons, 
and Miss Peck, who afterward became my wife. The 
Demings were always my warm friends, and to them I 
am indebted for many a kindness, at a time when I 
was ill and weak, and the bystanders hardly expected 
me to live. Of the Wolcotts, there were four, and I 
think now, as I did then, that I never beheld more 



130 Personal Memories. 



beautiful women than were Hannah and Mary Ann 
Wolcott. Many a time have I met them on North street 
when it was a pleasure to look upon them, with the 
clearest complexions of white and red, the brightest eyes, 
with tall and upright forms, and graceful walk. These 
ladies would have attracted admiration in anyplace of 
the world. The two other Wolcotts were also very 
handsome. Elizabeth married my intimate friend, 
John P. Jackson, of Newark, and Laura married 
another friend, Mr. Rankin. Their children are nu- 
merous, and likely to maintain, in various ways, the 
fine character of their ancestors. Of that circle of 
twelve or fifteen girls at Litchfield, with whom I was 
specially acquainted, all but two were married to non- 
residents and moved to other states. Two went to 
New York, three to New Jersey, one to Pennsylvania, 
two to Vermont, one to Ohio, one to West New York, 
one died unmarried, and two are living unmarried. 
These simple facts show what a moving and in some re- 
spects unstable country is ours. The young men of the 
East migrate to the West, and the young women marry 
those who also migrate, and there are few parts of our 
country where there are families whose ancestors 
were there one hundred years before. In New Haven 
are still some Mansfields whose ancestors were born 
two hundred years before. But a far greater number 
have emigrated, and still our American population are 
moving on, restless, while there is any hope of gratify- 
ing ambition or acquiring wealth. Connecticut has 
ever been a great hive, from which the young have 
swarmed out; making their homes in the vales of 
Ohio, on the mountain tops and on the ocean waves. 
My afternoon walks led also in a different direction, 



Personal Memories. 131 



into a society where there was less to admire and more 
to learn. At the lower end of South street, in a large but 
plain house, lived Oliver Wolcott, who had been a mem- 
ber of Washington's cabinet, and a man of great weight 
in the country. He was not the father, but the uncle of 
the Misses Wolcott, who were the daughters of his 
brother. The first Oliver Wolcott known to history, was 
governor of Connecticut, one hundred and twenty years 
ago. The second was also governor, and was a member 
of the Revolutionary Congress and signed the Declara- 
tion of Independence. The third Oliver Wolcott, of 
whom I speak, was in early life a merchant, then became 
comptroller of the treasury in the early part of Was- 
ington's administration ; then, on the resignation of 
Hamilton, he was appointed secretary of the treasury, 
aud served until Adams was elected. He was now in 
retirement, living in his ancestral home, and quietly 
waiting the turn of events. Doubtless, he had other 
anticipations, but he made no public etforts, and lived 
in that quiet simplicity, which characterize a true Re- 
publican. He had two sons who died young, and with 
them has perished in the direct line, the Oliver Wol- 
cott political distinction. My father had introduced 
mo to Governor Wolcott, and occasionally I called 
upon him and had most interesting conversations on 
the past and future of our country. Several times, 
when my duties were over, and the pleasant summer 
afternoons invited a walk, I went down to Governor 
Wolcott's and talked with him alone on the condition 
of the country. From him I got some ideas which 
have remained with me ever since. He was a strong 
tariff man, and so was my father, and most of the 
public men of that day. They saw that, owing to im- 



132 Personal 3Iemories. 



mense importations of foreign goods, a large part of 
which might just as well have been made in this coun- 
try, the country was drained of its specie, industries 
kept hack, and commercial affairs liable to sudden and 
ruinous fluctuations. They, therefore, concluded that 
to lay a bigh tariff on foreign fabrics would encourage 
American industry, and so far diminish importations, 
and give stability to trade. This view was earnestly 
taken by Governor Wolcott, and has continued with 
little exception to be the policy of the country ever 
since. Since the war of the Rebellion, the necessity 
for a large revenue has imposed the necessity for a 
high tariff, and will continue to do so for many years. 
In the meantime, also, American manufactures of al- 
most all kinds have risen up, and become so success- 
ful that the question of the tariff is not likely to again 
agitate politics. In the next thirty years, however, it 
did enter largely into political discussions. Happily 
for the country, the views of Wolcott and of nearly 
all the old statesmen prevailed, and the country has 
been saved from seeing its labor and industrial insti- 
tutions prostrate at the feet of European capital. 

Governor Wolcott had old-fashioned ideas about 
many things. He did not believe in the necessity of 
having men of genius or brilliancy to carry on the 
government. You know that young men are inordi- 
nately attracted by those very qualities. The brilliant 
orator or writer, the man of great schemes, aud the 
professor of new ideas, are the sort of people who win 
the admiration of young men. At this time — the 
summer of 1824 — there were several men ot this sort 
looming up as candidates for the presidency. There 
were Adams, Clay, Calhoun, and De Wilt Clinton — 



Personal Memories. 133 

all men of brilliant qualities. It was probably with 
these in his mind — in fact, we were talking of them — 
that Governor Wolcott said to me, in substance: 
" You do n't want a man of genius for president. 
You want a plain, practical man. There is old Sit- 
greaves, of Pennsylvania, will make as good a pres- 
ident as any other." ISTow, Sitgreaves was a member 
of congress, full of statistics and political economy. 
I have thought since that the American people had 
realized Wolcott's idea of getting a man without ge- 
nius, but had often failed in getting one equal to Sit- 
greaves. Just look in the calm light of history upon 
the administrations of Polk, Pierce, and Buchanan ! 
Of genius, no human being would accuse them. Of 
anything like a broad and sagacious statesmanship, 
just a little. Clinton, Calhoun, Webster, Clay — all 
rejected; and Polk, Pierce, and Buchanan accepted! 
What a record for a great and enlightened nation to 
make ! 

Governor Wolcott was elected governor as the can- 
didate. of the Democratic party, which had never at 
any time been able to elect a candidate. The manner 
of it was curious, and as it involves a chapter of po- 
litical history which will probably never be written, I 
will notice it here. Connecticut had always been 
governed by the old Federal part} 7 , which contained 
unquestionably four-fifths of the good and great men 
of the state. In the times of Jefferson and Madison, 
the Democratic party, to which my father belonged, 
was a small minority, which probably never would 
have come into power but for certain laws peculiar to 
that state. Connecticut had, in fact, coming down 
from Puritan times, a sort of state church. It con- 



134 Personal Memories. 

sisted in this, that a tax was levied for the support 
of religion, and paid to the churches. I believe only 
to the Congregational; for that was for a long time 
the only church in the state. But in the meantime 
the Episcopal Church, largely founded by my great- 
uncle, Richard Mansfield, had grown up to be a large 
body. Then came in the Methodists and Baptists, 
and with them all, some able men who were Deists. 
Then came complaints against the dominant influence 
of the Congregationalists and the imposition of a tax 
for religious purposes. This question came to be agi- 
tated. Then the Democrats took advantage of it, and 
uniting: with these discontented elements formed what 
was called the " Toleration " party. Woleott, whose 
family were Federalists, and who had been a member 
of the Federal administration of Washington, was the 
candidate of this Toleration party, and was thus 
elected governor. By this combination Connecticut 
became for many years a Democratic state, and was 
by no means improved in either the quality or caliber 
of its public men. There was some reaction in after 
years, when such men as Huntington and Bucking- 
ham came into the United States Senate. But, as a 
whole, the political changes in Connecticut have been 
for the worse, as I fear they have in the whole coun- 
try. It is a sad and ominous thing for a great coun- 
try, when it can be truly said : 

'The post of honor is a private station." 

Let me now turn to some other characters. On the 
North street was the residence of Colonel Benjamin 
TALLMADGE. He was one of the gentlemen of the old 
school, with the long queue, white-topped boots, and 



Personal Memories. 135 



breeches. He had been an officer in the guard over 
Andre at the time he was ordered to execution. 
After the war he had retired to Litchfield, and was 
one of the most marked as well as dignified men who 
appeared in that aristocratic town. When the West- 
ern Reserve of Ohio was set off to Connecticut and 
sold for the school fund, he became a large owner of 
lands there, and a township was named after him. 
One of his daughters married into the distinguished 
Delafield family of New York, and was herself a noted 
lady. 

At the upper end of North street, and near where I 
boarded, was the unpretending and home-like house 
of Dr. Daniel Sheldon. He was my physician in an 
attack of sickness, and one whom I always regarded 
with great respect. Whe:i he had just graduated from 
a medical college, he had an attack on the lungs, and 
was supposed to be fast going into consumption, and 
was saved by what may be called heroic treatment. 
He went to Litchfield to practice medicine, which in- 
volved much riding on horseback, and he began 
taking opium, until he took incredible quantities. 
Nevertheless it cured him ; and he recovered from the 
habit of taking opium as resolutely and bravely as he 
had began it. He survived all danger of early death, 
and lived to be eighty-four years of age, quietly and 
peacefully declining, until he passed from this life as 
gently as the setting star. One of his sons was secre- 
tary of legation in France, and one was a very suc- 
cessful merchant in New York. I was indebted to 
him for a comforting assurance, when we students 
were charged with being uncommonly " fast." There 
were more than fifty law students boarding in Litch- 



136 Personal Memories. 

field, many of them of wealthy families, and many 
of them from the South. Of course, there must be 
some amusement, and often the midnight air resounded 
with the songs of midnight rioters, and sometimes 
stories were circulated to the students' disadvantage. 
After hearing some remarks on the "fast" students, 
I met J)r. Sheldon walking, and said to him: 

"Doctor, they say we are the worst students ever 
were in Litchfield." "Pooh! pooh!" said the doctor, 
'•they are not half as had as they were in my day." 
So I was comforted with the idea that we were not 
casting shame on those venerable Puritans, who had 
condescended to become our ancestors. Be this as it may, 
I greatly enjoyed those evening sleigh rides, and those 
country suppers, when we would ride off to Goshen, or 
lh Twinton, or other village, and order our turkey and 
oysters, served up with pickles and cake, and then set 
Black Csesar to play jigs on a cracked fiddle. But the 
grand occasions was something beyond this, when we 
got sleighs with fine horses, and buffalo robes, and 
foot-stoves, and invited the belles of Litchfield, who 
never hesitated to go, and sat off to the distant village 
to have a supper and dance. I seldom danced, and 
some of the girls did not, but there w T ere always some 
who did, and we had jolly times. So passed my days 
in Litchfield, doing a great deal of good work in study, 
enjoying much of good society, and passing its hours 
in innocent amusements. 

Perhaps, before I close, I ought to notice two or 
three other families, not so much on their account, as 
by \v;iy of illustrating how Connecticut, in that gen- 
eration, became the great hive of the teachers and 
leaders of the country. 1 do not exaggerate when I say 



Personal Memories. 137 

that at that time, when the country had not one-third 
of its present population, Connecticut, in proportion to 
its own population (which was then 300,000), sent out 
three-fold as many as any other state of those who be- 
came eminent in wealth, literature, law, or politics. 
If any one shall deny this, it can he proved by the re- 
corded history of the country. One of the peculiar 
characteristics of Litchfield was, in popular phrase, 
that they "stuck to their men," and that is a good 
characteristic of any country. Litchfield elected two 
representatives to the legislature, and for nearly a cen- 
tury two or three names made up four-fifths of all the 
representatives. This certainly is one of the reasons 
which gave Connecticut the soubriquet of "the land 
of steady habits." One of the common names in the 
township was that of Buell. I was well acquainted 
with Dr. Buell, who lived on South street, and one of 
whose daughters married a law student, a Mr. Frank- 
lin, of Pennsylvania, and was the mother of General 
Franklin, in the army of the Potomac. Another noted 
man in Litchfield was Julius Deming. This gentle- 
man was a merchant and eminently successful. No 
man in the county was more honored and respected 
for integrity of character than this Litchfield merchant. 
He became very wealthy. His sons were wealthy, and 
his only surviving daugjpgter has inherited the family 
mansion, and lives unmarried, preserving still the dig- 
nity and character of the family. 

Another family there was that of the Seymours, and 
there is scarcely another family more distinguished 
than theirs. Moses Seymour, the immediate ancestor, 
was an officer of the Revolution, and settled in Litch- 
field. One of the sons emigrated to Vermont, and 



138 Personal Memories. 



became a United States Senator from Vermont. An- 
other emigrated to New York, was a land commis- 
sioner, and mixed much in politics. His son, Horatio 
Seymour, was governor of New York, and the demo- 
cratic candidate for the presidency in 18G8, against 
Grant. The main stock of the family remained in 
Litchfield, and were not without honors there. One 
of the sons Avas sheriff of Litchfield county, and Ori- 
gen Seymour, who was at the law school in my time, 
became Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, 
and is yet on the political stage. 

Since I have ffiven an account of the Litchfield law 
school, in its beginning and its prime, I may as well 
continue to the end. It was near by. Judge Gould 
becoming infirm in health, J. W. Huntington, Esq., 
who was a relative of the Wolcotts, became his coad- 
jutor until Gould died. Huntington, who soon after be- 
came judge and United States Senator,had other affairs 
on hand, and soon gave up the school. Practically 
the school died with Judge Gould. It was a private 
enterprise, and when such really great men in law as 
Judge Reeve and Judge Gould ceased to live there 
were none both able and willing to conduct it. The 
mantles of such eminent lawyers could fall on few, 
and those few did not prefer this line of life. 

I might mention other families in Litchfield, for 
there was scarcely any family whose sons and daugh- 
ters might not be found on the fields of the West and 
South, building up this great Republic. At this time, 
Dr. Lyman Beecher was pastor of the Congregational 
Church in Litchfield. His house was just across the 
street from Mrs. Lord's, where I boarded, and, as my 
window was on that side of the house, I used often to 



Personal Memories. 139 

see him and hear his violin, of which he was very- 
fond, sending forth merry tones. It is said, that he 
would return from a funeral and send forth the quick- 
est airs from his fiddle. He was of the most cheerful 
temperament, as I, who knew him for thirty years, 
can well testify. Few clergymen — probably none — 
have been more noted, more able, and I may add 
more useful than Dr. Beecher. He was then in his 
prime. It was in Litchfield, the year after I left there, 
that he delivered his celebrated lectures on temperance. 
It was a good place to begin work, for Litchfield had 
several able and distinguished men, who died or lost 
their influence by intemperance. Dr. Beecher was 
called the "great gun of Calvinism," and it seemed 
to me the very irony of fate to see him tried ten 
years after by the Presbytery of Cincinnati for heresy 
in Calvinistic Theology. In the meanwhile, he had 
been called to one of the principal churches of Bos- 
ton to combat Unitarianism. Whether he had much 
to do in repressing it, I know not. But it is certain 
Unitarianism has grown very slowly since that time. 
At the time I was in Litchfield, the Con 2; relational 
Church on the little green embraced two-thirds of the 
people of the village, and more than that in the sur- 
rounding country. Dr. Beecher was so far superior to 
all other preachers of that section, that all the students 
who went to church at all went to his church. I was 
always a regular attendant, not losing, I think, more 
than two or three Sundays while I was there. Dr. 
Beecher was remarkable for great irregularity in what 
may be called the quality of his sermons. There was 
none inferior, but there were times when he was dull. 
A friend said to me once that he had heard much of 



< 



/ 



140 Personal Memories. 

Dr. Beecher, and went to hoar him, hnt he never heard 
a duller sermon. I can realize that might have been, 
but Dr. Beecher was at times exceedingly eloquent. 
His spells of eloquence seemed to come on by fits. One 
very hot day in summer, and in the afternoon, I was 
in church and Dr. Beecher was going on in a sensible, 
but rather prosy, half sermon, when all at once he 
seemed to recollect that we had just heard of the 
death of Lord Byron. He was an admirer of Byron's 
poetry, as all who admire genius must be. He raised 
his spectacles, and began with an account of Byron, 
his genius, wonderful gifts, and then went on to his 
want of virtue, and his want of true religion, and finally 
described a lost soul, and the spirit of Byron going off, 
wandering in the blackness of darkness forever ! It 
struck me as with an electric shock, and left an im- 
perishable memory. 



Personal Memories. 141 



CHAPTER X. 

Return to Cincinnati — Voyage Down the Ohio — Judge 
Baldwin — Judge Torrence — My Case — Nicholas Long- 
worth — Martin Baum — Peyton Symmes — Dr. Wilson 
— Father Burke — Churches in Cincinnati — Bishop 
Fenwick — Aydelotte — Johnson — Jacob Burnet, his Use- 
ful Life — David K. Este — Nathaniel Wright — Gazley 
— William Lytle — Robert Lytle. 

The time had now arrived when I was to begin my 
professional life, if such I was to have. In May, 1825, 
I started, in company with my father, for Ohio, where, 
as it was intended, and it turned out in fact, I was to 
remain. We went by the route through New York, 
via Buffalo. At that time a large part of the New 
York and Erie Canal was completed. It seemed to 
my inexperienced mind that nothing could be more 
pleasant than a calm, unruffled voyage, without dan- 
ger or noise, and with time to read and observe the 
scenery, in a nice, well-fitted canal-packet. So, we 
took passage in 'such a packet for Albany to Utica, 
ninety-five miles. Never was a youthful vision so 
speedily and so utterly dispelled ! The quiet and 
beautiful canal-boat proved to be the dullest, the most 
tedious, the most wearisome of all earthly convey- 
ances. Arrived at Utica, we were too glad to take an 
old-fashioned stage-coach, and complete our journey 
to Buffalo. At that time the beautiful towns and 
villages of Western New York had just risen, fresh 



142 Personal Memories. 



with the newness of white houses and green fields, 
while here and there a calm and smiling lake, with 
its glassy surface, contrasted with the sky above and 
the green earth around. It was a lovely scene, and 
the more so to me, as I had just come from the rocks 
and mountains of the highlands. 

Arrived at Buffalo, in the latter part of May, we 
were met by one of those lake storms which are char- 
acteristic of that region. The wind blew fiercely, the 
rain poured down, and it rapidly grew colder; and in 
what should have been the warm and blooming spring, 
we were sitting at the hotel, half shivering round 
the fire. That day we took the stage, on the lake 
shore, for Erie. The road led through the then fa- 
mous Cattaraugua Swamp, almost impassable, even in 
summer. Then the corduroy bridges and mudholes 
presented a dismal prospect. The driver, to avoid 
them, often drove into the edge of the lake, where 
the water was shallow. Now the traveler is borne 
rapidly along by the Lake Shore Railroad, which an- 
nually carries its millions to the far-off shores of Lake 
Superior, where already cities are springing up and 
new states are formed. 

At length we arrived at Erie, and thence passed 
through Pittsburg and down the Ohio. At Pittsburg 
my father took me to call on Henry Baldwin, an old 
pupil of his in New Haven. Mr. Baldwin was a dis- 
tinguished lawyer, but then very much engaged with 
iron manufacture. He took me to see one of the 
great rolling-mills for which Pittsburg was even then 
famous. I have been through Pittsburg many times, 
ami never without seeing the flames and smoke which 
were continually pouring out of its great iron works. 



Personal Memories. 143 

Mr. Baldwin afterward became a member of con- 
gress and judge of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. His brother, Abraham, was senator from 
Georgia. Both were pupils and fast friends of my 
father. It was Abraham Baldwin who introduced 
him to the notice of Mr. Jefferson, and got him his 
first appointment as captain of engineers and teacher. 
You will remember he was the first teacher, in 1802, 
at West Point. Both these gentlemen were fair ex- 
amples of those young, active, and ambitious men 
whom the little State of Connecticut was sending to 
take the lead in the West and South. There were 
hundreds of them, whose names vou will find re- 
corded among the leaders of their country. 

The voyage down the Ohio in 1825, and in a fast 
steamboat, presented a vivid contrast to that of 1805, 
in a pine-board ark. Between 1805 and 1812 had 
come into use for locomotion that mighty power, 
steam, now used to move tens of thousands of ma- 
chines, supplying the labor of millions of men. The 
first steamboat was launched on the Ohio in 1811, 
and in 1825 there were hundreds on all the waters of 
the Ohio and Mississippi. All the modes of locomo- 
tion were changed, and in this same year (1825) the 
first railroad was put in operation between Liverpool 
and Manchester. Commerce received new life, and 
f the face of the world lias since been rapidly changed. 

I arrived in Cincinnati in June, and found it hot 

i enough. My first acquaintance were my relatives, 

'Dr. and Mrs. Drake. As they were in the midst of 

J society, and my father was well remembered by all 

the old citizens, it did not take long for me — who, I 

found, was regarded as a promising young man — to 



144 Personal Memories. 

become known to the best people of Cincinnati. So 
far as my memory extends, I will mention some of 
them. Among the first I saw were General and Mrs. 
James Findley, who were warm friends of my father 
and mother. He was the brother of William Findley, 
governor of Pennsylvania, and of John Findley, mem- 
ber of congress. James Findley was receiver of pub- 
lic moneys at Cincinnati, in 1805, when my father 
first arrived, and the families became intimate. He 
was now out of office, but in good circumstances, 
living on Broadway. In that or the following year 
he was elected to congress, from the Cincinnati dis- 
trict. In a few years he died, and his wife soon fol- 
lowed. He was an amiable, kindly man of good 
sense and courteous manners. Another family, and 
connected with the Findlcys, was that of Judge Tor- 
rexce, then president judge of the common pleas. 
He had married Mary Findley, a niece of General 
Findley's. He was a bluff, honest, good-natured man, 
with not much law, but a great deal of good principle. 
He was very kind to me, and I have remembered him 
with gratitude. It was under him that I came to the 
bar — for a very brief time. The only case I really 
tried, was that of a man who, standing on the shore 
near Mill street, had shot somebod}- in a boat upon 
the river. The facts were plain ; but I hit upon what 
I thought a happy expedient to clear him. The State 
of Virginia, in ceding to the United States the North- 
western Territory, had ceded it only from low-water- 
mark on this shore; so that, in point of fact Vir- 
ginia and Kentucky hold jurisdiction over the main 
channel of the Ohio. The man was shot in a boat 
upon the Ohio. Then I rose; made to the court what I 






Personal Memories. 145 

flattered myself was an invincible constitutional anm- 
ment — that a crime being committed upon the river 
was out of* the jurisdiction of Ohio. Then I was met 
by one of those rebuff's which young lawyers are apt 
to meet with. The common-sense of Judo;e Torrence 
overcame the theory of the law. Judge Torrence 
said, that although the crime might have been out 
of the jurisdiction of Ohio, yet it had been the uniform 
custom of Kentucky and Ohio to exercise concurrent 
jurisdiction over the river ; and thus my constitutional 
castle in the air tumbled to the ground. Judge Tor- 
rence left several sons, who have been conspicuous 
among the citizens of Cincinnati, and oue among them 
has been mayor of Cincinnati and member of the state 
senate. Present at this trial was Colonel Nathaniel 
Pendleton, who encouraged me in my effort, and was 
always friendly to me. His first wife was a daughter of 
Jesse Hunt, one of the early settlers of Cincinnati. 
She w T as well known in her day, and admired for her 
piety, benevolence, appearance, and character. Col. 
Pendleton was a leading member of (he bar at that da}', 
a popular man, and about that time a member of the 
state senate. In 1840, he was the candidate of the 
Whigs for Congress, in the great Harrison campaign, 
'and was elected. Two of his sons have been con- 
spicuous in the public and social history of the times, 
holding important offices in both state and church. 

Another man whose name has been spoken as often 
as that of any other man in Cincinnati, was Nicholas 
Longworth. He was a lawyer, who had come to Cin- 
cinnati at an early day, from Newark, New Jersey. 
He soon became well known, and continued so until 
his death, for some remarkable qualities. He was 



146 Personal Memories. 



very shrewd, sagacious, quick-witted; with great com- 
mon-sense and acquisitiveness. He had little dig- 
nity or learning, but had a quiet good humor, and a 
readiness at repartee, which made him popular. In 
the latter part of his life, and since his death, he was 
chiefly known as acquiring and holding a great estate. 
A part of this he acquired by good fortune, a part by 
his practice of law ; but far the larger part by saga- 
cious investments in real estate, which constantly rose 
in value with the growth of the city. He w T as a iriend 
of artists. He assisted Powers, I believe, and I know 
he did Mrs. Spencer, a noted painter, whom I found on 
the Muskingum river, near Marietta. He was also a 
noted horticulturist, especially in strawberries and 
vines. It is said that in the Mexican War he offered 
to raise a regiment on one condition. What was the 
condition ? Simply, that he might pick out the men ! 
The offer was not accepted, for however much Cin- 
cinnati may have been benefited, the government cer- 
tainly would not have been. lie was said to have as- 
sisted the poor liberally, and his house was always 
a hospitable one, which Mrs. Longworth and her 
daughters made a most cheerful and pleasant place 
of resort for vouuar men. At the time I speak 
of, Longworth lived on Front street, near the present 
Kilgour place. He soon after moved to " Rose Cot- 
tage," on Congress (near Pearl) street, opposite to, 
and not far from the stone house, on the corner of 
Lawrence, built by Daniel Symmes. In a year or two 
after, he bought of the United States Bank the square 
on the cast side of Pike street between Third and 
Fourth streets. The line, large house on it, and which 
still remains one of the best and finest in the city, was 



Personal Memories. 147 



built by Martin Baurn. In all these residences the 
Longwprth family were hospitable, cheerful, and en- 
tertaining. 

Martin Baum, whom I mentioned, deserves to be 
remembered by all who have prospered in Cincinnati, 
for she had few citizens who contributed more to her 
service. He was, I think, a German — one of the very 
first who came to Cincinnati. He was dark and 
swarthy in complexion, but of pleasant countenance. 
lie was a merchant, of active mind and public spirit. 
lie was one of those who after the war with Great 
Britain — from 1815 to 1820 — embarked in great pub- 
lic enterprises, which were immediately beneficial to 
the town, but quite disastrous to themselves. All the 
leading men engaged in them, however remote their 
professional business from commercial pursuits. 

Among those engaged with Baum and others, in 
getting up banks and manufacturing companies, were 
General Harrison, Judge Burnet, Dr. Daniel Drake, 
General Findley, Oliver M. Spencer, and nearly all the 
best-known citizens. Baum was, I believe, a stock- 
holder in the Miami Exporting Company Bank, the 
Cincinnati Manufacturing Company, the Sugar Re- 
finery, and similar enterprises. They all ultimately 
failed, and are scarcely remembered now ; and yet 
they did an almost incalculable benefit to Cincin- 
nati ; for they employed many people, circulated a 
great deal of money, and set in motion a social ma- 
chinery which determined the fate of Cincinnati, and 
brought it from a village up to a city. Of course, 
these public-spirited citizens all lost a part, if not the 
whole, of their property ; but nearly all of them hav- 
ing held real estate, made up by its ri?e for what they 



148 Personal 3Iemorics. 

lost in speculation. Baum was obliged to give his line 
square and home to the United States Bank in pay- 
ment of debts, but managed to save, from the despised 
and weed-covered Deercreek valley, enough fora hand- 
some estate. When the merchants do honor to their 
profession, they will scarcely find one more worthy of 
fame than Martin Baum. 

Another German, a Prussian officer, and who died 
that year, was Major Zeigler. He, as well as Judge 
Burnet, was, like Baum, of very dark complexion. 
He used to speak of Burnet and Baum, as his " two 
black brothers." I scarcely knew him; but he was 
one spoken of in society, and who seemed to leave a 
pleasant, memory behind him. 

I mentioned the stone house at the corner of Law- 
rence and Congress streets. This was built by Daniel 
Symmes, a brother of Judge John Cleves Symmes, the 
patentee of the Miami country. About the time I came 
out, in 1825, this house came into the possession of 
Peyton Symmes, his son. No picture of the social 
life of Cincinnati, from 1815 to 1840, would be com- 
plete without Peyton Symmes. lie was seen in al- 
most every gathering — at the corner of every street, 
and at odd times in newspaper offices, and sometimes 
in the theater, of which he was very fond. If not a 
man of genius, he had the eccentricities of one, and 
these eccentricities were entirely out of what may be 
called the common line of eccentricity. lie was un- 
worldly and unselfish, and yet not very generous or 
benevolent. He was really a literary man of a good 
deal of talent ; but thought the dotting of an "i," or 
the crossing of a " t," was a matter of supreme im- 
portance, lie was great on " hyphens" and "italics." 






Personal Memories. 149 



Accordingly, when an article was to be printed, he 
was the terror of the type-setters. lie would publish a 
paragraph, or a couple of stanzas, and go to the print- 
ing-office half dozen times to see that the "hyphens" 
and the "commas" were exactly right. In this he 
was wiser than many writers ; for, undoubtedly, the 
correctness of printing an article is like good dress to 
a lady, and does much to set off natural beauty. 
With the same zeal with which he pursued dots and 
commas he pursued " puns." He was the great pun- 
ster of the town ; and there was scarcely anything he 
could not make a pun upon. Sometimes people were 
annoyed by his pun-making; but, in general, they 
liked it, and were glad to have something to laugh 
at. Another practice he had was pencil portrait 
taking. He had real genius for that ; but his pencil 
portraits, while they were generally very accurate, 
often inclined to caricatures. Symmes would some- 
times be found at a party, standing in a corner, with 
a large white card, pencil in hand, taking the por- 
trait of some stranger. He would have dozens of 
these portraits in his pockets. When the Duke of 
Saxe-Weimer was in Cincinnati he was much amused 
with this eccentricity. When an American gentle- 
man met the Duke on the Rhine, he asked about 
several persons in Cincinnati. lie described Long- 
worth and asked about him, and about " the man who 
took pictures with a pencil on cards." With a love for 
literature and a love of ease, and no habit of indus- 
try, Symmes, who had early advantages of property 
and business, closed his life with little of either. lie 
was one of those who please and interest living society, 



150 Personal Memories. 

but who leave no impressions for posterity. The 
water is stirred for a moment and closes forever. 

Among the noted, and certainly the most important 
members of society, are the clergy, and I will here 
describe the clergy of Cincinnati in 1825, as far as my 
memory can call them up. The first church in Cin- 
cinnati was the First Presbj^tcrian Church, which was 
built on the corner of Main and Fourth streets, where 
it stands now. It was still the most important church 
in the city, although several others had been built. 
The pastor of the church was the Rev. Joshua L. 
Wilson, and after making due allowance for generals, 
lawyers, and merchants, there w T as no man in the Cin- 
cinnati of that day more noted, more, respected, or 
more remarkable. Personally, I knew little of him, 
but his name and acts in society were known to ev- 
erybody. He was a man amiable in character, just in 
life, of great authority, and scarcely less pugnacity. 
With strong opinions and strong character, he thought 
what was worth preaching was worth fighting for. 
So, though no Ishmaelite, his hand was uplifted 
against the Ishmaelites when they came in his way. 
About the 1st of June, 1812, two volunteer companies 
of Cincinnati were about to join the army of Hull, 
marching for Canada. They, with a large congrega- 
tion, assembled in the First Presbyterian Church to 
hear a parting sermon from Dr. Wilson. My father 
and myself were among the number. The doctor 
took his text from Jeremiah: "Cursed be he that 
dealeth deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth 
back his sword from blood." Whether the sermon 
corresponded with the warlike character of the text, 
I waa too young to notice. But there is no doubt of 






Personal Memories. - 151 



the doctor's zeal in a war for the country or a war for 
the church. Wilson took the Bible in the simplicity 
of faith and its terms literally. It is said he never 
would have a portrait or picture in his house, because 
it was an image. lie was a strict Calvinist, and 
thought he should earnestly contend for the faith 
which was once delivered unto the saints. Accord- 
ingly, when the controversy of 183G-'37 came on, he 
was clad in battle array, or, in the language of the 
Scots, entered on the foray. One of the first acts of 
the war was to call the men who differed with Wilson, 
Breckinridge, and others of the old warriors, a "New 
School," although those who heard Reman, Beecher, 
Fisher, and others preach, could never tell in what the 
doctrines of the " New School " differed from those 
of the others.- However, the controversy had not at 
this time began, and Dr. Wilson, as pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church, was pursuing the peaceful tenor 
of his way. He was a beloved pastor in his own con- 
gregation, respected by the people, and many years 
after died much lamented. 

The Second Presbyter inn Church had now come 
into existence, and was, I believe, worshiping on Race 
street, in an old building, which was said to be the 
same occupied originally by the first church. 

At this time there was only one Roman Catholic 
church in the city, and that was near where St. Xa- 
vier Church now is, on Sycamore street. The preacher 
at that time was Bishop Fenwick, the first Roman 
Catholic bishop in Ohio. I remember one bright 
Sunday in summer to have strolled into that church 
to hear what the bishop would say. I forget what 
was the text or the subject; but I remember to have 



152 Personal Memories. 



been very much struck with his illustration of the 
doctrine of good works. He represented a man as 
going up to the gates of heaven, and St. Peter weighed 
his irood deeds on one scale and his evil deeds on an- 
other. The good a little predominated, and into 
heaven he was received. Bishop Fenwick was much 
respected in his own church. The first Catholic 
church in Ohio — St. Joseph's, in Perry county — was 
consecrated by the then Rev. Edward Fenwick in 
1818. He was a native of Maryland, and a member 
of the order of St. Dominic. 

At the same time there was ■ only one Lutheran 
church in Cincinnati. This stood on the north side 
of Third street, just east of Broadway, on the original 
site of Fort Washington. For a long time this was a 
small but earnest congregation, Which a few years 
after removed to Sixth street. It was several years 
before the German immigration became large, and 
then the Lutheran churches increased in number and 
magnitude. 

I do not know much of the Methodist and Baptist 
preachers of that day, but some men among them 
were quite remarkable. Among them was " Father 
Burke," who occasionally preached in the next few 
years, but was now postmaster. He was a Southern 
man, and had many of the prejudices of the South. 
He seemed to have lost his voice, and always spoke 
low and in guttural tones. He was always chewing 
tobacco, and being a postmaster, was always a Demo- 
crat. He was a strong Methodist, and seemed an 
amiable man. Speaking of him brings up the mem- 
ory of some other people connected with the post- 
office. When we left Cincinnati in 1812, the post- 



Personal Memories. 153 

master was Colonel William Ruffin. His office was 
on Front street, near Lawrence. Yon may judge from 
this fact that there was very little of Cincinnati west 
of Main street in 1812. Just before we started for the 
East, we were at the house of Dr. Drake, on Syca- 
more street, just below Fourth street. It was then I 
witnessed the great tornado, and one of the things ] 
remember was that there were no houses above Fourth 
street and east of Sycamore, except the " Sargent 
House," in the center of the square bounded by Fourth 
and Broadway. Looking southeast, we could see as 
far as Front and Lawrence, with only here and there 
a house intervening. The bottom below Third and 
above Front was even then wet and swampy, and in 
winter was frozen over, and furnished skating for the 
boys. But we must return to the post-office. The 
daughter of Colonel Ruffin married Major William 
Oliver, who, when Harrison was elected president, 
also became postmaster. When quite young, Oliver 
had been a volunteer soldier at the siege of Fort 
Meigs, and performed good service. In after times he 
was one of the original proprietors of Toledo, and his 
daughter, Mrs. Hall, is still a proprietor there. Oliver 
was an amiable and intelligent gentleman, and to the 
hospitalities of Major and Mrs. Oliver, I was after- 
wards indebted for many a pleasant hour. 

Returning to the clergy. There appeared upon the 
stage in 1825 one whom I thought quite a remarkable 
man. This was Joiin P. Durbix (now Dr. Durbin), 
high in the confidence of the Methodist Church. Mr. 
Durbin was this year appointed professor in the Au- 
gusta (Kentucky) College. It was after this, how- 
ever, that he preached in Cincinnati. I heard him 



154 Personal Memories. 



several times, and always found him eloquent and 
earnest. He was one of the very few men whom I 
thought orators. He was not striking in either im- 
agery or argument, and yet he carried his audience 
immediately along with him by the fervor of his 
thought and the grace of his manner. He would 
begin with a very low voice, and gradually ascend 
and warm with his subject. Why he did not continue 
a popular preacher I do not know. He was advanced 
high in the church, but put to other work. 

There were, I think, already (in 1825) two Episco- 
pal churches, Christ's and St. Paul's. Christ's (now 
on Fourth street) was the original Episcopal Church 
in Cincinnati, and it was for several 3 T ears the only 
one. My family having been Episcopalians, this was 
the Church I attached myself to. At this time the 
pulpit was vacant, and I was one of the original meet- 
ing which called the Rev. B. P. Aydelotte. He minis- 
tered to the church for many years, and it has grown 
up to be one of the largest and most efficient churches. 
Dr. Aydelotte, in after years, became president of 
Woodward College, and has since been an author and 
philanthropist — in all situations adorning, by his life 
and worth, the profession to which he belongs. 

Of St. Paul's, which cither began at this time or 
soon after, the Rev. Samuel Johnston was pastor, 
who was highly esteemed by the congregation, and 
whose name has been held in grateful remembrance. 
Such was the general state of the church and clergy 
in 1825. The city had more churches in proportion 
to its population than it has now; but I don't think 
the standard of religion was any higher. It is true 
the immigration from Europe of many free-thinkers, 



Personal Memories. 155 

the multiplication of amusements, the worldly spirit, 
and the fashionable life and luxury which arc so ap- 
parent on the surface of society, gives an impression 
that the church has not crown much in numbers 
and strength ; but a closer examination will show that 
the church never was so strong, so earnest, or so ef- 
fective in its work, as it is to-day. 

Let us now look at the bar. Lawyers will always 
be, as a profession, men of mark and influence in so- 
ciety, because they are, in the average, the best edu- 
cated class, and because they have most to do with 
business, and because the law commands respect. At 
this time there could not have been more than forty 
lawyers at the bar, and three or four of them had 
really retired from practice. In this small body were 
several men of mark and influence — men of mind, 
and weight, and character — some of whom had influ- 
ence on the na'ion. I will mention two or three. At 
the head of the bar, undoubtedly, though now retired 
from practice, was Jacob Burnet. This gentleman 
was the son of Dr. Burnet, of Newark, New Jersey, 
a distinguished man in the Revolution. Jacob stud- 
ied law, and about 1797 came out to Cincinnati, where 
he subsequently married Miss Rebecca Wallace, daugh- 
ter of the former pastor of the Presbyterian Church, 
and ever after continued to reside in Cincinnati. Bur- 
net at first boarded at the tavern on Front street, kept 
by Griffin Ycatman. Public houses for travelers then, 
and for thirty years alter, had onl} T two names, "tav- 
erns" and houses of " private entertainment." The 
former were plain, honest taverns, and the latter more 
like private houses. "Hotels," "restaurants," "sa- 
loons," and a whole class of modern hostelries, were 



156 Personal Memories. 

unknown, and so were also the enormous prices and 
notorious shams of public houses in this day. Good 
board, lodging, and reasonable comforts could be had 
then, and for thirty years after, for one-third the prices 
of the present day. What have we gained with our 
enormous prices and imitation of European shams? 
Luxury, intemperance, extravagance, peculation, 
fashion, and ambition, which, in people without fixed 
principles, lead to unbounded desires and unconscion- 
able means for their gratification. There was intem- 
perance then, and much of it in the highest classes 
of society, and beyond doubt we have in that respect 
improved. But there were no low grog-shops at 
every corner, tempting and seducing workingmen, and 
thus impairing the very strength-of societ}'. Burnet 
boarded at Yeatman Tavern, on Front street, a short 
distance from Fort Washington, associating with the 
officers and gentlemen of the then village of Cincin- 
nati, which he well described. 

Here I want to say a word for " Old Griff," as he 
was called fifty years afterward. His tavern was 
well liked by his customers, and I know of no 
one who was for half a century so popular in 
Cincinnati. Years after the time I speak of he 
left tavern-keeping, and was elected recorder of the 
county, an office which now has immense business, 
but was then of small dimensions. "Old Griff" 
did his business well, and with his plain, blunt honest- 
ness, satisfying everybody. Often I have carried deeds 
to the office and found him sitting in the same old 
chair, writing in the record book, looking up with a 
smile, and spitting out tobacco, of which lie was a 
great chewer. The host of the Front Street Tavern, 



Personal Memories. 157 

though not a great man, was a better one, who thought 
nothing human beyond his care. Such a character was 
the puzzle and opprobrium of politicians, who would 
nominate somebody else for recorder, but were invari- 
ably defeated. " Old Griff" kept his chair 'in the re- 
corder's office until death laid him in the grave. At 
his tavern, Burnet, as I have said, for some time boarded, 
and was intimate with the officers of the Garrison, 
in Fort Washington. With one of them he became a 
life-long friend, and at length did much to make him 
President of the United States. This was William 
Henry Harrison, then a lieutennant in the Fort, who 
having escaped the danger of intemperance, then 
abounding among the officers, and the dangers of dis- 
ease, of field, and flood, was, in 1840, elected President 
of the Republic. No man did so much for his election 
as Jacob Burnet, whose intimacy with him began in 
Fort Washington. Burnet had come out as a lawyer, 
and in that profession he began and grew with the 
city, in whose name, and fame, and interests he was 
at all times no small part. In that day, to practice 
law at Cincinnati required the lawyer to ride the cir- 
cuit. And what was the circuit ? ]STo less than the 
whole Northwestern Territory, now comprising five 
states and ten millions of people. In the circuit which 
Burnet rode, were Marietta, Detroit, and Yincennes. 
He would tell of hair-breadth escapes by field and 
flood. Here there were almost impassable swamps, 
and there unfordable streams. One night they were 
belated in making a certain point, and their horses 
stopped suddenly and would not go. They got 
off and had to camp there. Next morning they found 
the horses had stopped just at the edge of a precipice 



158 Personal Memories. 



which overhung Wolfe Creek. At other times they 
would stop in an Iudiau village * aud be caressed by 
greasy squaws, aud joked with by swarthy warriors. 
Such was a part of the Cincinnati lawyers' practice in 
the close of the last century. Burnet says that when 
he came to the bar, there were nine lawyers, who, all 
but one, became intemperate. The officers of Fort 
Washington were hard drinkers, and this led the citi- 
zens to be intemperate. In a few years, Burnet was 
the sole survivor of the early Cincinnati bar. When I 
came back, Burnet had retired from active business, 
but was still the most influential private citizen. 

lie had taken great interest in the early improve- 
ments of the city, of which I have spoken, and yet at 
this time, when retired, he was spoken of as without 
public spirit, and rather illiberal. The very reverse was 
the fact, and to illustrate how much was done by the 
early citizens of Cincinnati to aid its progress, I will 
mention what he once told me in a conversation upon 
public improvements. He said that he had paid for 
public enterprise full $80,000, and lost nearly the 
whole of it. He was a stockholder in the Cincinnati 
Manufacturing Company, the Sugar Refinery, the Iron 
Foundry, at the corner of Lawrence street, the Mi- 
ami Exporting Company Bank, and perhaps some 
others. The stock in these companies was a total loss, 
except the bank, whose assets subsequently paid some- 
thing. The upshot of all this was that he became 
largely indebted to the United States Bank, and for 
that debt, sold the square on which the Burnet House 
and Shillito's store now stands, for $25,000. This was 

* Burnet's Notes mi the Northwest Territory. 



Personal JlJcnwries. 159 



in 1825, and the price was about one-fortieth part 
of what the ground alone is now worth. Burnet, how- 
ever, held a large amount of city lots, in what was 
then almost out of the city, and to-day is the very 
heart of it, where the Second Presbyterian Church now 
stands, and extending through to Sixth street market. 
It need not be supposed, therefore, that Burnet, Baum, 
and other enterprising citizens of that day died poor. 
On the contrary, some of them left large estates, and 
nearly all had a competency. Judge Burnet lived 
nearly thirty years after the financial storm had passed 
by. He had ceased the practice of the law, but in the 
meanwhile entered upon public life. A few years after, 
he was elected judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, 
where, as in everywhere else, he was distinguished for 
great acuteness of intellect and solid integrity. Yet, 
Burnet was by nature and by habit of mind, a lawyer 
— that is, not merely a man acquainted with law, but 
a man who always has a side, and who thinks, whether 
by a virtue of a fee, or of his own opinion, that his 
side ought to prevail, unless he changes for cause. It 
was related of Burnet, in his early practice, that he 
defended a man for stealing an ax, and by his ability 
had him acquitted. Just then, as Burnet looked round 
for his client, the man had slipped out without paying 
the fee. Upon this, Burnet said: "Well, I really 
think that man was guilty after all." 

Burnet, on the bench of the Supreme Court,- mani- 
fested a good deal of the same acuteness, and the same 
one-sidedness. He gave dissenting opinions, which 
manifested more of his own opinion than of law. ]STo 
man ever questioned his integrity, but no man ever 
knew him swerve from his own side. After the Whig 



160 Personal Memories. 

party was formed, Burnet was elected to the United 
States Senate. "When asked about his politics Burnet 
would smile and say, " I am a Federalist, sir." But no 
man was a stronger Whig, and few men a stronger 
partisan. It was impossible for him not to have been 
a partisan. In the Senate of the United States, as in 
all the remainder of his life, he belonged to the great 
Whig party, and was fully up to the level of its great 
leaders, Clay and Webster. He was intimate with them, 
with Harrison, Crittenden, and others of the brilliant 
circle of public men who have not been equaled since, 
and whom to think of makes me almost doubt whether 
this age of leveling lias not also leveled genius and 
dignity. Judge Burnet was present in the senate when 
Daniel Webster delivered his great speech in reply to 
Colonel Hayne. Much as I have read and admired 
that speech, I got a higher idea of it from his descrip- 
tion of the manner and effect of it. He described it as 
most impressively delivered, and as listened to with 
wrapt attention. Well it might be, for it was not only 
a most perfect piece of oratory in itself, more forcible 
and argumentative, but very much like some of Cicero's. 
But it was also the argument, the reply, which annihi- 
lates the argument for nullification and secession. It 
was a demonstration that such proceedings must ulti- 
mately result in war. If Webster could have known 
or foreseen the effects of that speech on the minds of 
the young men in the country, he would have thought 
the presidency a little thing compared with this crown 
of his reward in forming the public mind of the nation. 
With so cool a temperament and so acute an intellect, 
Judge Burnet was a witness, who may be trusted for 
the truth of hist< >rv. The most important part Burnet 



Personal Memories. 161 



took in politics was that of a delegate to the Whig 
convention at Harrisburg, in 1839. He was there the 
leading representative from Ohio, in favor of General 
Harrison. He had been, as I have said, intimate with 
Harrison, when the latter was a lieutenant in Fort 
Washington, and he was a man who never gave up his 
side. So when Harrison was brought out for the 
presidency he became a strong advocate of the General, 
and the hero of Tippecanoe never had an abler or more 
active adherent than Burnet. I was told by a delegate 
from New York, who was in favor of Scott, that no 
man in the convention did as much for Harrison as 
Burnet, The result is now history, Harrison, ninth 
President of the United States, and Burnet, his advo- 
cate, now lie in that silent grave where presidents and 
judges, heroes and their followers, are alike leveled 
with the dust. 

Two or three other members of the bar may be 
mentioned on account of their subsequent career. 
One of these was David K. Este, who came to Cin- 
cinnati about 1813. He, like Burnet and Longworth, 
was a Jerseyman, and, like them, very success- 
fid. He was a graduate of Nassau Hall (Princeton), 
and, at the time of his death, the oldest living graduate. 
He died in his ninety-first year, and one of several 
members of the Cincinnati Bar who have shown re- 
markable longevity. He was a good lawyer, but chiefly 
distinguished for courtesy of manners, propriety of 
conduct, and success in business. Like Burnet, he was 
one of those cool and careful temperaments, who are 
incapable of being excited beyond a certain point, and 
who never commit themselves out of the way. He 
was several years president judge of the common 



162 Personal Memories. 



pleas, and acquired the respect and esteem of the bar. 
With that he also acquired a large fortune, made by 
investing the surplus avails of his practice in real 
estate, which rose rapidly in value. Here I may add, 
that while we see many people who have accumulated 
large property by trade, I will venture to say that the 
Jerseymen, who came to Cincinnati, and who all stuck 
to real estate, got more property in the aggregate than 
all the leading merchants of the city. Este died at 
ninety-one, and his longevity brings to my mind some 
things he related of Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia. His 
brother persuaded him to attend medical lectures one 
winter. lie was much interested, and told me the last 
remarks of the celebrated professor. In his last lecture, 
Dr. Rush said: "Young gentlemen, I have taught you 
the resources of the profession, I have told you of the 
necessity of temperance, of air, of exercise, and diet, 
but one thing I have not told you. The exercise of the 
mind is as necessary as that of the body. Let no day 
pass without reading or reflecting upon some subject 
for an hour or two. Young gentlemen, your health is 
in your own hands." Judge Este was always careful 
of his health, and often quoted Dr. Rush as authority. 
lie was an Episcopalian in the church, a gentleman in 
society, and a Republican in politics. After a worthy 
life, he died respected by all classes. 

Another lawyer of that day, who died recently in his 
ninetieth year, was James W. Gazley. He came to 
Cincinnati at an early day, and practiced law, bat was 
rather given to politics. In 1819-1820, he was elected 
to congress from the Cincinnati district, against Gen- 
eral Harrison. It was rather surprising at the time, 
since one would have thought that such a man as liar- 



Personal Memories. 1G3 



rison would have been elected at once. The election 
was affected, however, by circumstances arising out of 
the great financial difficulties which were then in mid- 
crisis. Some question arose about aristocracy, and 
Gazlay represented the plebeian interests and was 
elected to congress. He was not re-elected, and after 
that did little at the bar. In the latter part of his life 
he retired to the country » and was much engaged in 
writing. He was a patriotic man, lived respectably, 
and died old. 

Nathaniel Wright was another of the old lawyers, 
who died recently at eighty-eight years of age. He 
was a native of New Hampshire, and began life, as 
man}- lawyers have done, as a school-teacher. He came 
to Cincinnati several years after Este, married a niece 
of Judge Burnet, and soon got into good practice. He 
was one of the founders of the Second Presbyterian 
Church, of which he was an elder until death. Mr. 
Wright was a good lawyer, but was never in public 
life. 

Another noted law3 r er at the bar was Bellamy 
Storer. He was a New England man, I believe from 
Maine. He had a remarkably quick and sprightly 
mind, also a certain species of humorous wit. In 1825, 
when the " Crisis and Emporium " was published by 
Samuel J. Browne, Storer was said to be one of the 
11 twenty-five " editors of that paper. I suppose, in 
fact, the young lawyers, who were Adams men, wrote 
for the '• Crisis," of which, Browne, who lisped a little, 
used to say, he was " the thole editor and proprietor." 
He may have been, and yet the twenty-five young men 
wrote for it. Storer was, I think, one of the first three 
judges elected to the Superior Court, of which he 



164 Personal Memories. 

was an able judge and ornament until near his death. 
He was ouce member of congress, and became one of 
the principal members of Christ's Church. "Horace 
in Cincinnati " described his then life as "youthful, 
gay, and wild," but he ended it, at the age of eighty, 
as one who had been a judge in the land, a legislator, 
and an elder of the church. 

I must hasten on. " Horace in Cincinnati" whose 
account of the bar in 1821 was very just, says, in his 
16th Ode: 

With person of gigantic size, 

With thund'ring voice, and piercing eyes, 

When great Stcnlorius deigns to rise, 

Adjacent crowds assemble, 
To hear a sage the laws expound, 
In language strong, by reasoning sound. ■ 
Till, though yet not guilty found, 

The culprits fear and tremble. 

This is the picture of "Joe Benham," as he was 
called. He was not a " sage," but he was au orator, 
and few men were more impressive in power and man- 
ner. I walked into the court-house one afternoon, 
when a boy was on trial for stealing some trifling ar- 
ticle. Except the jury, there were not a dozen people 
in the house ; but a more eloquent and pathetic appeal 
than Benhani made for that boy, I have scarcely ever 
heard. Benham died in rather early life. He was the 
father of Mrs. George D. Prentice, of Louisville, and 
will probably be remembered by his descendants. 

Mr. Co-rry, father of the present William M. Corry, 
waa then at the bar, and, I believe, mayor of Cincin- 
nati. Of him, Horace says : 



Personal Memories. 165 



" Slow to obey what 'er to call, 
And yet a faithful friend to all ; 
In person rather stout and tall, 

In habits quite domestic. 
Devaux in elegance is found 
To run the same unvaried round; 
Ne'er grov'ling lowly on the ground, 
.Nor sailing off majestic." 

In 1825, there were also at the bar two sons of Gen- 
eral William Lytle, who had been an early pioneer, 
and was a gentleman of standing and wealth. Will- 
iam Lytle, the eldest son, was spoken of in tho high- 
est terms both for talents and character. He was 
consumptive, and died young. Robert T. Lytle was 
for several years a marked man in Cincinnati. His 
father was a warm personal friend of General Jack- 
son, whom he was thought to resemble in many 
things. Robert was a young man of decided talent, 
and popular appearance and manners. So about 1832, 
when Jackson was at the height of his power, Robert 
Lytle was elected to congress, and became a protege 
of the General. When the war on the United States 
Bank began, Lytle, of course, sided with Jackson; 
but that did not at all suit his constituents, especially 
merchants and manufacturers, who depended largely 
on the bank for money. So, in the election of 1834 
there was a revolution in the politics of Hamilton 
county, and he was defeated, as I have related, by 
Bellamy Storer. Mr. Lytle lived a few } r ears longer, 
but died at an early age, and left behind him the 
memory of a brilliant, generous, and popular man. 

I have said enough to show the character of the bar 
of Cincinnati in 1825. It will be seen that in no 
larger number than forty, it certainly had as large a 



16G Personal Memories. 



proportion of gifted and remarkable men as perhaps 
ever adorned a similar body, and yet I have left out 
some (one in particular, to be mentioned hereafter) 
who were fully equal in talent and standing to the 
others. It is noticeable that there were among them 
some examples of uncommon longevity. Burnet, 
Gazlej T , Este, Wright, and Storer averaged eighty-five 
years of age, and two of them reached ninety years. 
In the year 1825 there was a little society of not a 
dozen young lawyers assembled for mutual instruc- 
tion, and at the end of half a century, four of them 
were living, and of the forty lawyers at the bar then, 
eight were living. This shows that the pursuit of in- 
tellectual professions is by no means unfavorable to 
health; but, on the contrary, the regular exercise of 
the mind, and a uniform life of business, aids, rather 
than obstructs, a life of health and happiness. In 
connection with this, we may note the remarkable 
fact, stated by Judge Burnet, that of the nine lawyers 
of the bar in 1795, all but one perished sots. It is not, 
therefore, labor, or intellectual excitement, or even 
business cares, which shorten life, but the irregular- 
ities, and exhaustions, and excesses of indulgence and 
intemperance. The bar of this day has very little 
intemperance comparatively, for all things are rela- 
tives. This is one evidence that society is not going 
backward, and that we may expect better things for 
the future. 

Having described all that I know of ministers and 
lawyers, let me proceed to notice doctors and editors, 
and here we shall find a much less harmonious scene, 
but some characters who had quite as much influence 
on society. 



Personal Memories. 107 



CHAPTER XL 

Dr. Daniel Drake, his genius and character — Dr. Go- 
forth — Cincinnati in 1805 — Medical Practice; Drake 
founds the Ohio Medical College; is turned out by his 
Colleagues ; " Horace in Cincinnati;" Drake's Mon- 
ody on the Death of his Wife — Moses Dawson — ■ 
Charles Hammond, Editor and Lawyer — States Bights 
in Ohio — Literary Institutions — Hiram Powers — Poets 
— W. D. Gallagher. 

In 1825, and for many }'ears after, Daniel Drake 
was much the most distinguished physician of Cin- 
cinnati, lie wus a man of genius, of strong intellect, 
of warm temperament, zealous and ambitious. For 
forty years he was engaged in nearly all public affairs 
— the founder of some, and the friend of all good in- 
stitutions — a life-long teacher in his profession, and 
a writer of no small eminence. In his little book 
called the " Picture of Cincinnati," he did more for 
this city than probably any one man had then done, 
and should be held in grateful remembrance by those 
who profited by his labors. He was a native of New 
Jersey, born in 1785. His father — a plain farmer — 
moved to Kentucky, near Maysville, and subsequent^ 
to Cincinnati. The young Daniel seems for some 
cause to have been destined to the medical profession 
at an early day. lie came to Cincinnati while he was 
quite a youth, studied, and afterward became a part- 
ner, with the theu noted Dr. William Goforth. Of 



168 Personal Memories. 

this gentleman, Drake, in some of his discourses, has 
given an interesting account. Goforth was one of the 
earliest and best of the medical practitioners. He 
was a gentleman of the old school. With a gold- 
headed cane, a wig, and stately step, Goforth went 
forth. Of the kind of practice in those days we can 
get an idea by hearing that the learned doctor would 
be called out in the night to visit a patient, four miles 
off, on Mill creek ; ride in the dark, sometimes lead- 
ing his horse ; and then get twenty-live cents in specie, 
besides a bite for his horse. The doctor, it was said, 
was a very kindly man, but quite oblivious of the ne- 
cessity of collecting or keeping money. Of course, 
he did not succeed very well, and some years after 
went to Xew Orleans. I have a characteristic letter 
from him to my father, in which, after relating his 
experiences, he concludes with "New Orleans is hell 
unon earth." This was probably a correct, however 
brief, picture of it at that time. It was bad for Go- 
iorth, for he got the liver-complaint, and returned to 
Cincinnati to die. 

At the time Drake studied with Goforth, the town 
of Cincinnati was a dirty, and, what some persons 
will scarcely believe, even a marshy place. I have al- 
ready said, that the bottom, below East Third street 
to the river, was a marsh, the river bank being higher 
than the land back. This marsh was frozen over in 
winter, and made a skating-place for boys. So also 
Fifth street, where the government buildings are now 
erecting, w;is an alder swamp. Drake relates that, 
when studying medicine, he resorted to the bowers of 
Deer creek. This dirty little run had high banks, 
overgrown with trees, shrubs, and liowers. There 



Personal Memories. 169 

Drake, with his books, and while listening to the song 
of birds, the croaking of frogs, and the rustling of 
the wind, studied the science which has made Hip- 
pocrates and Galen, Boerhave and Rush, famous. He 
was very fond of natural scenery, and in the latter 
part of his life wrote " Reminiscential Letters," which 
are full of the most beautiful descriptions, thoughts, 
and sentiments. 

Drake began his practice young ; went into partner- 
ship with Goforth, which partnership did not flourish 
very well. It was soon dissolved, and Drake had 
managed to get enough to take him to Philadel- 
phia, there to hear the lectures of the celebrated Dr. 
Rush and his colleagues. Improved and stimulated 
by intercourse with great minds, he returned to Cin- 
cinnati, to begin a career which, in this country, is 
unique in the variety of its incidents, the magnitude 
of its labors, and the usefulness of its work. The 
country was new ; the town was young ; society mis- 
cellaneous ; and every public institution had to be 
founded, and the social character to be formed. There 
was no man better fitted for this than he, and no man 
did more of it. In the course of this varied career, 
he was at times involved in bitter controversies, but 
time smoothed them over, and he lived to forgive, 
if not forget, his enemies. lie was a founder of good 
things, an author, teacher, and physician. In 1818- 
1819, he went before the legislature, and presented 
personally his views on medical education, and pro- 
cured the charter of the Medical College of Ohio, and 
of the Commercial Hospital of Cincinnati, both of 
which remain monuments to his memory. He had 
been the first medical student in Cincinnati, and on the 



170 Personal Memories. 



organization of the college became the first medical 
professor. It was this which led him into a great 
controversy. He fell into the error which the Uni- 
versity of Virginia, and several institutions of the 
"West, have fallen into — that of importing professors 
from abroad, cither from Europe or the East. All of 
these institutions found out their error, and some of 
them by severe suffering. Drake's medical college suf- 
fered. He got his professors from the East ; and the 
medical college opened, in 1821, with the announce- 
ment of Daniel Drake, Jesse Smith, Benjamin L. 
Bohrer, and Elijah Slack as professors. The three 
last had been imported. Bohrer was an intriguer, 
who immediately began a cabal to supplant Dr. Drake. 
There was a great defect in the charter, which made 
the professors also the trustees ; so that, in fact, the 
majority of the faculty could turn out the others, and 
elect whom they pleased. Bohrer left of his own 
accord, but had alienated the other professors from 
Drake. This occasioned a singular and very ludicrous 
scene. The three professors met in solemn council, 
Drake presiding, when Smith moved the expulsion 
of Drake, and Slack seconded it; whereupon Drake 
put the motion, and the founder of the Medical Col- 
lege of Ohio was expelled from the institution he had 
created, by the colleagues whom he had made! The 
society of Cincinnati was not so large then as not to 
sympathize with a medical quarrel. The town was 
soon filled with partisans, and the medical war went 
on for nearly twenty years. Two years after " Horace 
in Cincinnati " wrote " Ode 24th," ou the xEsculapian 
war. He says: 



Personal Memories. 171 

" The warfare was begun 
Long ere we shook with laughter, 

To see Pilgarlie run, 
And Dr. Pompous after. 

" And t' other day we find 
(Here none can think me bouncing) 

Professor Till designed 
To give " one Pen " a trouncing. 

Though famous as a Turk, 
The last seem'd not to mind him, 

But promptly drew a dirk, 
And popt it in behind him." 

This is an actual fact. Dr. Pill is supposed to Lave 
been Dr. Morehead, an Irish doctor, who was after- 
ward quite a popular physician. "One Ben" was 
Drake's brother Benjamin, who encountered More- 
head in the manner described. The incident is trifling, 
but it illustrates the manners of the day, when Cin- 
cinnati was yet a small town, and, of course, partak- 
ing in all the feuds and bickerings of its leading men. 
Twenty years scarcely allayed these quarrels, in which 
nearly all the then citizens of Cincinnati were en- 
gaged. 

In 1825, when I arrived in Cincinnati, Drake, whose 
wife was my cousin, had apparently got through with 
those quarrels — although they broke out subsequently. 
lie was a bankrupt, financially; had been expelled, 
in the way described, from the institution he had 
founded ; and was now turning round to see what the 
world would be to him. lie was poor, and nearly all 
Cincinnati were also. Even Burnet had been com- 
pelled to sell his house and square for what turned out 
to be a song; and Baum, just after building his fine 
residence on Pike street, had sold that and the whole 



172 Personal Memories. 

square to the Bank of the United States. The wealth- 
iest citizens were those who suffered most. Drake had 
not been wealthy, bat he had gone into the specula- 
tions of the day, and become one of the unfortunate 
victims of the United States Bank. In this condi- 
tion, and in the spirit of that economy which few now 
realize, he went into a log cabin, at the foot of the 
hills, above Liberty street, which he aptly called 
" Mount Poverty." But he had the practice of his 
profession, and was altogether too able and brilliant a 
man to be neglected. In the year 1825 he was mak- 
ing arrangements with Transylvania' University, at 
Lexington, Kentucky, to become a professor there — 
which he was for several years. In the summer of 
1825 he lost his wife, for whose loss he mourned as 
few ever do. Annually he made a pilgrimage to her 
tomb, and commemorated her death with an anni- 
versary hymn, for the composition of which he had 
much aptness. I quote the last three stanzas of that 
for 1831 — in refereuce to something he did for the 
then graveyard : 

" Thou lonely widowed bird of night, 
As on this sacred stone, 
Thou may \st in wandering chance to light, 
Pour forth thy saddest moan. 

" Ye giddy throng, who laugh and stray 
Where notes of sorrow sound, 
And mock the funeral vesper lay, 
Tread not this holy ground. 

" For here my sainted Harriet lies; 
I saw her hallowed form 
Laid deep below, no more to rise, 
Before the judgment morn." 






Personal Memories. 173 

The reference to the "giddy throng who laugh and 
stray" round graveyards was very apt in reference to 
that of Cincinnati. The principal graveyard at that 
time — the one set apart to Presbyterians and Episco- 
palians — was what is now called " Washington 
Square," between Twelfth and Fourteenth, Race and 
Elm streets. At this time it was quite full of graves 
and grown over with weeds, and frequented by idlers 
of all descriptions. Here the body of Mrs. Drake was 
deposited, and the doctor immediately set to work to 
clear and improve the grounds. He got some small 
subscriptions, cleared off the ground, and planted 
trees, so that in a short time the grounds assumed a 
decent and pleasant aspect. It was perhaps well that 
the home of the dead was soon converted into a park 
for the living. In the beautiful cemetery of Spring 
Grove, at least one generation of the dead may rest in 
peace. More than that can hardly be expected, when 
we reflect that in twenty years two successive grave- 
yards of the pioneers have been broken up and built 
upon ! 

After the death of his wife, Drake removed to Lex- 
ington, Ivy., but the next year returned to Cincinnati, 
where, until his death, he was known as teacher, jour- 
nalist, and author, eminent at home and distinguished 
abroad. In these characters we shall see him again, 
and especially in social movements, where he was not, 
only conspicuous, but very useful in his influence. 

About this period there were several respectable 
physicians in Cincinnati, although not distinguished 
as literary or scientific men. Among them was Dr. 
Ramsey. He was of Scotch descent, one of the old 
school gentlemen, stiff, starched, and stately, with his 



174 Personal Memories. 

queue, and high-topped boots, visiting his patients on 
horseback or in his gig. Then there were Pierson, 
Jesse Smith, Cramuer, Morehead, and others. "We can 
see from this that the medical, as well as the legal 
faculty, at that time was of a high order of talents and 
attainments. 

]STo\v, it yon please, we will turn to a very different 
order of men, and one which, in all the changes of 
time, has an immense influence. I mean the news- 
paper writers. The term "editor" is constantly used 
in a false sense. The editor of a book or journal or 
newspaper is the one who makes it up, prepares it, 
and ushers it before the public, lie is not necessarily 
the writer at ail ; but, in the economy as well as ne- 
cessities of nearly all newspapers, the editor is the 
thief writer, and hence the confusion of terms. At 
this time, and I mean from 1825 to 1828, Cincinnati 
had two remarkable newspaper writers. These were 
Moses Dawson and Charles Hammond. The former 
(Dawson) was an Irishman, who then published and 
edited the Cincinnati Advertiser, which, in the new 
formation of parties, become the Jackson, and subse- 
quently the leading Democratic paper of this region. 
Dawson was a rough, ungainly man, but quite a vig- 
orous writer. He wrote, I think, a life of General 
Harrison, and as the leader of the rough and unedu- 
cated class of the community, although respectable 
himself, was quite a conspicuous person. I was nat- 
urally averse to such people, and so never became 
much acquainted with him. Some time after this, 
Charles Hammond became editor of the Cincinnati 
GAZETTE. Hammond, of course, came right into con- 
flict with Moses Dawson, for Hammond was a firm 
Federalist of the old school, had edited a paper in 



Personal Memories. 175 

Belmont county, Ohio, was an able lawyer, and com- 
promised nothing of his opinions for anybody. Such 
a man on one side and an Irish Democrat on the other 
would of course, and actually did, make a literary and 
political pugilism worthy of Donnybrook. Newspaper 
conflicts have never been confined to polite usages or 
tender language. So Dawson and Hammond kept up 
a running tight which was more worthy of Ireland 
than of America. There was, however, no equality 
in the contestants. Hammond was not only an able 
lawyer, and familiar with the political history of the 
day, but was one of the sharpest and most vigorous 
writers. While Hammond was firing rifles, whose 
balls invariably hit the mark, Dawson would reply 
with a blunderbuss, heavily charged, but making 
more noise than exeeution. 

Both these men were jovial companions, and would 
often meet in a " coffee-house," as the saloons of this 
day were then called. It was told me, by one who was 
present, that they would meet at a noted coffee-house 
on Front street, where they would banter each other 
over their toddy. Dawson would say: " I'd beat you, 
Charley," and Hammond would say : " I'll give it to 
you in the morning." If anyone objects to this un- 
dignified proceeding, they will please to remember 
that it was a counterpart to the convivial scenes of 
London, when Fox and Pitt frequented the club- 
rooms. But Hamrnond had a higher and a nobler 
office than Dawson or any other editor of the West 
could then perform. It is singular that no one has 
prepared a memoir or sketch of this remarkable man. 
He was born, I think, in Western Virginia, near the 
Pennsylvania line, at any rate near the border; he set- 






176 Personal Memories. 

tied in Belmont county, Ohio ; practiced law, and was 
known as an able lawyer, in the day when Doddridge, 
of West Virginia, was yet on the stage, and John 0. 
"Wright and Tappen practicing at the same bar. lie 
had great fondness for polities, and edited the leading 
paper of that section. He was a firm Federalist and 
opposed the Democratic party at all times. Yet he 
was found at one time supporting the leading heresy 
of that party, " State Rights." Of this, however, he 
quickly repented and made amends by a long, vigor- 
ous defense of the true constitutional doctrine. The 
occasion of his error was the attempt of the State of 
Ohio to tax the United States Bank, branches of 
which were established in Cincinnati and Chillicothe. 
The state taxed them $50,000 each. The bank re- 
fused to pay, and the auditor of state collected the 
tax by force. Upon these proceedings, the Circuit 
Court of the United States ordered the money to be 
refunded, which was done, and a case was made — that 
of Osborne against the Bank of the United States-*-wh\ch 
was ultimately decided in favor of the bank, by the 
Supreme Court of the United States. The entire 
principle was discussed and finally decided in the case 
of McCollovc/h versus the State of Maryland. In that 
case, the supreme court decided that the charter of the 
bank was constitutional, being one of the means appro- 
priate to the objects of government ; that the bank 
had a right to establish offices of discount and deposit 
within any state, and that no state had a right to 
tax this, or any constitutional means employed by the 
Government of the Union for constitutional objects. 
This settled that question, but it seems strange now, 
and will seem more so in future history, that the State 



Personal Memories. 177 



of Ohio, in 1820 unci 1821, deliberately affirmed the 
States Rights heresy embodied in the Virginia Reso- 
lutions of 1798, and protested against the right of the 
supreme court to adjudicate questions concerning the 
states. It was a series of decisions in the supreme 
court which bound the American Union and educated 
the coming generation into just ideas of nationality. 
Nevertheless, it took forty years of discussion, of nulli- 
fication, of secession, and of civil war to terminate 
this political controversy and settle the American 
Government upon, we hope, durable foundations. In 
the proceedings against the bank, it was understood 
Mr. Hammond was the adviser. Being, however, a 
consistent believer in law and government, he yielded 
at once to the decision of the court, and never again 
advocated the doctrine advanced in the Virginia or 
the Ohio Resolutions. In fact, the whole affair was an 
episode in Ohio history, produced, no doubt, by the 
great and extraordinary financial embarrassments 
which took place between 1819 and 1823. This con- 
troversy began in 1820 and ended in 1824. About 
this time, Mr. Hammond removed to Cincinnati, where 
he practiced law, and in a short time, probably 1826, 
became editor of the Cincinnati Gazette. " Liberty 
Thill" was a weekly paper, originally conducted by the 
Rev. John W. Browne. It was for many years the title 
of the present Weekly Gazette, which was established 
in an early day. The Gazette was a semi -weekly at 
the time Mr. Hammond took it, and resembled in size 
and appearance the second-class country papers of the 
present day. It had been edited by Isaac Burnet, 
mayor of the city, and a brother of Judge Burnet. 
Hammond soon made himself felt, although the 



178 Personal Memories. 



amount of editorial matter he furnished seems surpris- 
ingly small when compared with the ponderous arti- 
cles of this day. There was a lesson in them, how- 
• ever, which might now he heeded with advantage, 
lie made up in quality what he wanted in quantity. 
I know of no writer who could express an idea so 
clearly and so briefly. He wrote the pure old English 
— the vernacular tongue, unmixed with French or 
Latin phrases or idioms, and unpervcrted with any 
scholastic logic. His language was like himself— plain, 
sensible, and unaffected. His force, however, lay not 
so much in this as in his truth, honesty, and courage, 
those moral qualities which made him distinguished 
at that day, and would distinguish him now. 

In 1828, while editor of the Gazette, he edited 
" Truth's Advocate," a monthly, which, for about a 
year, was published by the friends of Adams and Clay 
against the claims of General Jacksox. Several his- 
torical and some very able articles appeared in it. 
Jackson's illegal marriage (for it was illegal, although 
morally right), his duels, his arbitrary conduct, his 
despotic character, were all shown up in strong colors, 
and the account was, with little exception, true. Yet, 
I could not sec that it made any impression upon the 
people, who looked upon Jackson as a patriotic man, 
who had fought the battle of New Orleans and beat 
the British. The popular sentiment was expressed 
by Counselor Sampson, of New York, in some speech 
before a jury, in which an old soldier was a party. 
" This war-worn soldier," said he, " who bled upon 
the field of New Orleans— that death-bed of British 
Glory ! " The popular feeling against the British con- 
tinued many years after the war, and Jackson was a 



Personal Memories. 170 



sort of popular synonym for the Anti-British feeling. 
In truth, Jackson had more than this form of patriot- 
ism. He was in every sense patriotic, and the country 
owes a debt of gratitude to him, for his stern opposi- 
tion to the nullification scheme, and to all those anti- 
national ideas, which afterward resulted in secession 
and civil war. His determined course postponed the 
time of the outbreak and strengthened the feeling of 
Union, which afterward sustained the government. 
That his administration contained much evil, as well 
as some good, no future historian will deny. His 
election brought on a fierce and bitter controversy, 
which continued for thirty }'ears, and which termin- 
ated only in the greater controversy upon the ques- 
tion of slavery. 

At that time, Henry Clay was the great political 
leader in the West, to whose fortune, both Oliio and 
Kentucky steadily adhered. Hammond was the per- 
sonal and political friend of Clay, often practicing in 
the same courts. So he made war on Jackson, and 
was unrelenting in his attacks. Although he failed 
to defeat Jackson, he laid the foundation for the over- 
throw of his successor, Van Buren. Mr. Hammond, 
although exercising a wide influence on politics and 
public men, was always a private citizen. He seemed 
not ambiiious, but on one or two occasions, he re- 
jected office for other considerations. He was asked 
to accept the place of supreme judge, but conscien- 
tiouslv refused it, because he knew himself to be in 
some measure intemperate. The rejection was more 
honorable to him than any office could have been. His 
opposition to slavery and its influence on the govern- 
ment was firm, consistent, and powerful. Probably 



180 Personal Memories. 

no public writer did more than he to form a just and 
reasonable anti-slavery sentiment. In fine, as a writer 
of great ability, and a man of large acquirements and 
singular integrity, Hammond was scarcely equaled by 
any man of his time. We shall hear more of him as 
I proceed. 

In addition to the pulpit, the bar, and the press, all 
ably manned, there was, at this time, some germs of a 
literary society. John P. Foote, a native of Connec- 
ticut, had heen for several years a book publisher, and 
took a great interest in literary matters. He, in 
connection with some young men, of whom Ben- 
jamin Drake, John II. James, and Lewis Noble 
were, I believe, a part, had established a literary 
paper, which continued for three or four years. 
In the year 1822, appeared the odes of u Horace in 
Cincinnati," which, at the time, caused quite a sensa- 
tion ; for they were, in most cases, descriptive of well- 
known persons and scenes. They were republished 
in a little volume, without the author's consent, and 
were, as he said in a note, on subjects so local and 
transitory as to be of little general interest. Never- 
theless, many of his descriptions were very accurate. 
The author was not known at their publication, but 
was soon after found to be Thomas Pierce, educated, 
I think, a Quaker, and in business a hardware mer- 
chant. He died man} r years since, and, except in some 
library, "Horace in Cincinnati" died with him. 

At this time also there weie the wrecks of several 
literary schools. I have already mentioned that Wil- 
son and Drake were the oiiginators of the " Lancas- 
terian School." Lancaster was an English educational 
reformer who was just then in vogue, with a new 



Personal Memories. 181 



fashion in education — for education has its fashions, 
as all other things. His system was that of mutual 
instruction among the pupils. Drake obtained the 
charter of the Lancasterian Seminary, as he did those 
of the Medical College of Ohio and the Commercial 
Hospital of Cincinnati. The Lancasterian School was 
in operation several years, when it gave place to Cin- 
cinnati College. This institution was chartered in 
1819, and was part of a system of institutions Drake 
had devised. He was in high spirits at this time, and 
wrote to one of his friends, that many thousands of 
dollars had been subscribed to the seminarv : that the 
medical college and hospital would soon be in opera- 
tion ; that there was a school of arts proposed ; and 
that Cincinnati would soon be, what Lexington had 
been called, the Athens of the West. It was pre- 
cisely, however, the literary part which failed. After 
a brief trial of the Lancasterian Seminary, Cincinnati 
College was substituted in its place, and for three or 
four years had classes, under the presidency of the 
lie v. Elijah Slack. Several young men who after- 
ward rose to some distinction, were in this college : 
but unendowed and dependent only on local support, 
the college soon ceased its regular classes, and its 
charter was kept alive only by a primary school. In 
subsequent years, it was again revived, only to die out 
in the same manner'. The trustees had, however, 
established a law school, and recently two lectureships 
— one of Christian philosophy, and the other of Chris- 
tian jurisprudence. In this way the institution is suc- 
cessful, and will, perhaps, in this form, do the work 
which the pioneers of education intended. 

At the time I returned to Cincinnati all these insti- 



182 Personal Memories. 

tuitions were comparatively wrecks, and it remained 
for the coming generation to reveal and recreate the 
means of education' in the metropolis of the Ohio 
Valley. Drake, Burnet, Lytle, Spencer, Foote, Wil- 
son, and other pioneers in that liberal enterprise, have 
long since passed away, and few of this generation 
remember their worth; yet it was, in proportion to 
their day and means, greater than anything done 
since. Over their graves there is not a single monu- 
ment which gives to the passing stranger an idea of 
their work, and the future city of Cincinnati, great in 
arts and population, will know little of its founders or 
or its benefactors. 

Some time after this — anticipating a little — I first 
heard of Hiram Powers. I was parsing down Main 
street, when I noticed some posts at the corner — per- 
haps Third street — which had been put, I believe, for 
lanterns. But, whatever the purpose, I noticed carved 
heads upon them. These heads were so far superior 
to any of the common wood carving that I was sur- 
prised, and asked who did them. I was told Hiram 
Powers. lie was then, I think, in the employment of 
Lumaii Watson, who was for a long time a clock- 
maker in the city. He was soon noticed for his re- 
markable facility in that line, and, I may add, in 
many things which required ingenuity. In fact, 
Powers was a genius, one out of only half a dozen I 
ever knew. Soon after that — probably about 1830 — 
he was employed by Dorfieule, who kept a museum 
near the corner of Main and Pearl streets, to make 
what was for several years called the "Infernal Re- 
gions." I believe he was first engaged to make wax 
figures. In a construction of the " Infernal Regions " 



Personal Memories. 183 

he came as near what might be imagined the reality 
as one could come. He had the fires burning — Rhad- 
amanthus, the Judge — darkness enveloping the whole, 
and an invisible, to the visitor, electrical battery, 
which nearly knocked down the unfortunate visitor 
who happened to touch the railing around. This was 
a popular affair, and remained in vogue several years, 
when Dortieule gave up the museum and retired. 
Powers was with him for a considerable time before 
he engaged in sculpture. How he succeeded in that 
the world knows. I have never seen a memoir of 
him, although a very interesting one might be made. 
Some encyclopoedia notices have been made, but fell 
far short of giving a true view of his life and genius. 
About this time (from 1828 to 1835) there were two 
poets in Cincinnati, who, I presume, are now entirely 
forgotten. They are mentioned in Everest's " Poets 
of Connecticut," for they were both natives of that 
state. One was Hugh Peters, a young lawyer, and 
much esteemed. He was a man of talent and rising 
at the bar. He began writing for the New England 
Review when in college, but wrote several pieces in 
Cincinnati. lie was the author of " My Native 
Land," a patriotic and pleasing poem. One verse 
seems to have been prophetic : 

''And I have left thee, home, alone, 

A pilgrim from thy shore ; 
The wind goes by -with hollow moan, 
I hear it sigh a warning tone, 

' You see your home no more.' 
I'm cast upon the world's wide sea, 

Torn like an ocean weed; 
1 'm cast away, far, far from thee; 
I feel a thing I can not be, 

A bruised and broken reed." 



184 Personal Memories. 

lie was found drowned in the Ohio, in June, I think, 
1832. It was supposed he had got up, as lie had done 
the night previous, in an unconscious state, harassed 
by care or trouble, and gone into the river. 

The other name was that of Edward A. McLaugh- 
lin. He was a printer, hut led a wild and adventurous 
life, being in Cincinnati some ten or fifteen years. In 
1841, he published the " Lovers of the Deep," in four 
cantos. It was founded on an incident connected with 
the wreck of the unfortunate steamer Pulaski. 

Anticipating time, I may say that about the same 
period, William D. Gallagher began his career as poet, 
editor, and writer. He is the best known of all the 
Western poets, and deservedly so. Some of his pro- 
ductions are very supeiior, and ought to live in any 
collection of American poetry. It has been, perhaps, 
unfortunate for his literary fame that his life has been 
so various and so employed in business, that he has 
not been able to woo the muses as assiduously as those 
ladies require. At least, I can imagine that he had 
the traits and talent to have excelled in poetry. 



Personal Memories. 185 



CHAPTER XII. 

Society in Cincinnati — Parties — Theaters — Actors — 
Prevalent Diseases — Taking the Census — Mechanics — 
Strange Imposition — General Boss. 

My introduction to the society of Cincinnati was 
easy and general. My father went with me, and no- 
body was better known than he. It was just then 
that his friend and agent, Martin Baum, had built the 
fine house on Pike street, I have already mentioned. 
Baum never gave but one party in that house, and I 
was there. It was in the summer of 1825, and was 
given in the afternoon. We went at four o'clock, and 
came awa} r before dark. It was, I believe, only a re- 
ception for gentlemen, who had a pleasant time with 
the usual refreshments. Several years after that, I 
was present in the same house at one of the largest par- 
ties I ever attended in Cincinnati, given by Mr. Long- 
worth. Parties are not a test of society, unless compared 
at very distant periods of time. A fashionable party is 
always the same, unless in the differences only, which 
difference of means causes. There will be greater or 
less numbers, greater or less display of dress or orna- 
ments, according to the means of the giver, or the 
state of the markets, or the fashion of the times. The 
lapse of half a century has caused little difference in 
the elements of a fashionable party. The cynic and 
the philosopher are very apt to denounce it; but ac- 
tual observation of society shows that even this has 



186 Personal Memories. 



its uses. A fashionable party is almost always given 
to pay social debts, to celebrate an occasion, or to 
honor a stranger. If a person has the means to do it, 
these are commendable ends. So it is said, by many, 
that they are bores, rather than means of enjoyment. 
That is just as the guest takes it. A sensible man or 
woman can enjoy a large party very much. It is a 
place where you can seek what mode of passing the 
time you please, and talk upon what you please. It 
is said that John Quincy Adams, even when presi- 
dent, would be found at a large party in Washington, 
sitting in the corner playing chess. No doubt, in an- 
other corner of the room might be found the belle of 
the season, surrounded with beaux and rattling away 
with light and airy manner; and in another some 
noted lady, adorned in the splendor of dress and dia- 
monds, talking with a foreign ambassador. Such a 
party is, therefore, not a place to be wholly denounced. 
At the time I spoke of, there were not, in Cincinnati, 
the means to make a party as rich and ornamental as 
there are now. ''Modern Improvement''' had not 
reached us. Even oysters were, not seen at a party 
until 1827. Nor could the beautiful array of " cut 
flowers " be exhibited then, as they are now. Nature 
•produced as much, but there was little attention paid 
to merely artificial products, and fashion had not made 
these displays necessary. In fact, Cincinnati parties 
in 1825-1 82G were purely social, not for the mere pur- 
pose of display, which is too often the case now. They 
had an excess of good things to eat and drink; but 
with them a large share of good humor and good con- 
versation. There was no distinction of old and young, 
fashionable or unfashionable, married or unmarried; 



Personal Memories. 187 

bat while the party, like a family, was mixed in dif- 
ferent proportions, it was always composed of the well- 
to-do, the respectable, and the intellectual. The dis- 
tinctive marks of pioneer hospitality had not yet 
wholly departed. The frank manners, the warm re- 
ception, the bon ami, and the recognition of the pio- 
neer favorites had not gone. I remember one party, 
which was a fair type of parties in general at this time. 
It was at the house of Col. C, on Third street, near 
Main street, where many good families then lived, and 
I attended several parties on Third street. Col. C. had 
a large square house, the best rooms of which were 
on the second floor, and the whole suite were thrown 
open for the reception and supper rooms. Col. C. 
had been rather profuse in his invitations. I think 
there were more than two hundred persons present, 
and the house crowded. In the front room the ladies 
and gentlemen were engaged in conversation, as usual, 
the ladies making no attempt at magnificent dresses, 
and the gentlemen paying no more attention to young 
than to old ladies, but mingling in general conversa- 
tion, and all making themselves agreeable. There was 
no regular set supper-table. But, as was customary at 
that day, there were in the back rooms tables for gen- 
tlemen, covered with the most solid dishes of meat and 
game, while the waiters carried to the ladies the best 
of cakes and confections, with whatever else they de- 
sired. "With them remained the young gentlemen, 
who had then even more gallantry than they have 
now in commending themselves to the graces of the 
ladies. But with the old, sedate, and unfashionable 
gentlemen the back room was the charm. There stood 
the tables, with ham and beef, and venison, turkey, 



188 Personal Memories. 



and quails, with bottles of brandy and wine, and there 
were cards for those who wanted to kill time. Never- 
theless, in those rooms were many a charming woman 
and many an intellectual man. I met at that time, I 
think, for the first time, Nathan Ware, a gentleman 
from Georgia, a brother of Senator Ware, and at one 
time a partner of Calhoun. He was a man of great 
intelligence and inquiring mind. I mention him here 
because of an interesting conversation I had with him, 
about this, on the subject of a bridge over the Ohio, 
one winter evening, at his room, on the lower part of 
Broadwa}'. He took out some maps which he had 
drawn of a bridge to be erected. The plan was to put 
it from the foot of Broadway to the mouth of Licking, 
having one outlet to Covington and the other to New- 
port. It was to be built on piers, with a draw. The 
idea was rather better than that of the great railroad 
bridge, made by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 
which was built on piers, but is conrined to the New- 
port side. Dr. Drake, in his "Pictures of Cincinnati,"' 
published in 1815, says: "Some enthusiastic persons 
already speak of a bridge across the Ohio, but the 
period at which this great project can be executed is 
certainly remote." JSTot so very remote, for it was little 
more than thirty years afterward when the beautiful 
suspension bridge was thrown over to Covington. 

In the same winter, I think, I attended the wedding 
of Miss Graham and Dr. Ridgely, at a two-story frame 
house, on Third street, which now looks like one of the 
antiquities, but which saw, in those days, some of the 
brightest scenes of the town. Mr. Graham, the father, 
was a paper manufacturer, whose mill was at the foot 
of John street. His two daughters and son were 



Personal Memories. 189 

among the first people I was acquainted with. At 
that wedding, I think, were a number of the young 
ladies who then entered into society. Some of them I 
will barely mention. One of them was Mary Long- 
worth, the eldest daughter of Nicholas Longworth, 
and at that time quite a belle, handsome and interest- 
ing. She soon after married Dr. Stettinius, of the 
District of Columbia, and in a few years died. An- 
other was Mary Ann Burnet, who married Mr. A r achel 
"Worthington, and also soon died. Another lady, of 
whom I saw little, but who is sung by "Horace in 
Cincinnati;' was Elizabeth A. Lytle. Her father, 
General Lytic, was a noted man in the early history 
of Cincinnati, and her brother, Eobert, was a few 
years after elected to Congress. Her brother, William, 
whom I have just before mentioned, was thought to be 
one of the most promising young men, but died early. 
Elizabeth Lytle, soon after I came out, was married to 
Charles Macalester, a merchant, who removed to Phila- 
delphia. Both were persons in high estimation, much 
esteemed by those who knew them. Just previous to 
my arrival she had been one of the belles of Cincin- 
nati. Horace, in Cincinnati, addressed her an ode, 
which though not remarkable for poetry, shows in 
what esteem she was held : 

" If virgin purity of mind, 

"With nature's loveliness combined, 

In life's unclouded morning; 
If in her fair and comely face 
Shine here, politeness, ease, and grace 

Her character adorning; 

" If blest with kind parental care, 
To guard her steps from vice's snare, 



190 Personal Memories. 

And if religion summon 
To taste her joys, a maid like this, 
You must, dear friend, possess of bliss 

A portion more than common. 

" Unskili d in coquetry's vain wiles, 
Devoid of art and Syren-smiles, 

And free from envy's leaven, 
Still with untiring ardor run 
The virtuous course you have begun, 

Beneath the smiles of heaven." 

From the society of ladies I must turn, in order to 
give a true picture of the town in its coarser amuse- 
ments. Cincinnati seems to have had then, as well as 
since, no small taste for gambling. The police re- 
ports now show that the city is infested with gamblers. 
These are of a low and coarse sort ; but when I came 
out, and for several years, there were many gentle- 
men of the bar, merchants, and others, who habitually 
gambled. Just before then the marshal and his offi- 
cers had been seized with a sudden spasm of virtue, 
and arrested nearly an hundred of lawyers, merchants, 
bankers, and "gentlemen," who (without regard to 
their gentility) were indicted for gambling — much to 
their astonishment, and the astonishment of the town. 
Of this proceeding, ' k Horace " says : 

" Our citizens had long, 
Unfearing fortune's evils, 

With cards, and wine and song, 
Enjoyed their midnight revels. 

They grew more free and bold, 
Nor thought to be molested; 

At length a tale was told, 
And every man arrested." 

The joke of the town was that the sheriff and the 



Personal Memories. 191 

prosecuting attorney were among- the number arrested. 
" Horace," who was a Quaker, enjoyed it, and his 
28th Ode is full of irony. 

" Blush, jurymen, with shame, 
For wantonly commanding 

Some hundred men of fame, 
Renown, and lofty standing, 

To quit their fov'rite sport, 
Renounce their gambling errors, 

And stand before the court, 
In all its mighty terrors." 

Facts like these show — what my observation has 
done — that the grosser vices have diminished in the 
higher and more educated classes of society, and de- 
scended to the lower. It is well known that gambling 
was at onetime fashionable in England, and at the time 
I speak of it was almost fashionable in Cincinnati. 
There were wealthy gentlemen, and the most eminent 
members of the bar, who were known to be gamblers. 
After a time, this was denounced, and the reputation 
of gambling was a bad one. Then it ceased to be 
openly practiced by respectable men. At least it was 
hid, and in this, as in other cases, vice paid to virtue 
the tribute of hypocrisy. 

At this time there was in Cincinnati a theater, on 
Columbia (since called Second) street, between Main 
and Sycamore. In the winter of 1825-1826, I was a 
frequent attendant, and found much amusement, with- 
out anything to regret. It was undoubtedl} 7 — if I may 
judge from what I hear — of a better character than 
many of the theaters. There, I once heard Booth 
the elder, in Richard the Third, in which he was 
celebrated. But tragedy I never admired, and my de- 



192 Personal Memories. 

light was in the comedy of the then noted Aleck 
Drake, who with his wife — a superior woman — was 
famous in the western country. I had seen "Old 
Barnes," as he was called, in New York, and many 
years after, Burton. Aleck Drake, totally unlike either, 
was, in the spirit of comedy, equal to them. He was 
superior to Barnes, but not equal to Burton, in gentle- 
manly bearing. In the power to make fun, without 
coarseness, Drake was unrivaled. His wife was su- 
perior to him — not so much on the stage as in mind 
and character. I once saw a little incident showing 
what an energetic, spirited woman she was. 

A fire broke out on Main street, and at that time 
there were no fire-engines, and the only mode of car- 
rying water was by fire-buckets, filled at the river, 
and handed from hand. So a line was formed from 
the fire to the river. L\\ that line, among the men, 
was Mrs. Aleck Drake, handing buckets vigorously. 
She was a person of mind and character, and always 
a great favorite with the public. I saw her once in 
the character of "Meg Merriles," which she looked 
and acted as thoroughly as Meg herself must have 
done in her wild freaks among the Gypsies, and in her 
character as prophetess announcing : 

"And Bertram's right and Bertram's might 
Shall meet on Ellengowan Height." 

Drake died while she was yet in her prime, and she 
married Captain Cutter, the poet. He was author of 
the " Song of Steam," a noted piece in its day. Cut- 
ter was very intemperate, and great efforts were made 
by his friends to save him, but in vain. The marriage 
was an unhappy one. They were separated, and in a 
few years botli were dead. 



Personal Memories. 193 

My attendance at the Columbia-street Theater was 
the last of my acquaintance with the acted drama. 
Except very rarely I have not entered a theater. If I 
may judge by what others say, the Cincinnati theater 
has degenerated since those days. " Stars " seem to 
be quite numerous, but the character of the theater 
itself declined. First comes melo-drama ; then the 
spectacle, which, under the name of a play, is often 
more than half a menagerie, by introducing animals 
on the stage. Recently the opera has been intro- 
duced, which is, no doubt, a great improvement on 
the age of melo-drama and menagerie; yet it does not 
seem, from newspaper accounts, that the theater has 
risen to any great dignity, either in character or rep- 
resentation. When we reflect how universal were 
theatrical entertainments in Rome, and are now in 
France, we must admit that there is something in 
them well adapted to the taste and amusement of 
mankind; but the question remains whether this 
kind of amusement is not abused to evil consequence, 
and whether we can imagine the early Christians to 
have frequented theaters. Garrick and Mrs. Siddons 
were, no doubt, well worth anybody's while to see; 
but we suspect neither Garrick nor Mrs. Siddons were 
seen acting in such theaters and accompanied with 
suck circumstances as we have now. 

In the summer of 1826, while boarding on Broad- 
way, I had a severe bilious fever. This fact reminds 
me of the change which has come in the character and 
fatality of diseases in Cincinnati. From 1825 to 1828 
the bilious fever and its kindred diseases were preva- 
lent, and, indeed, alarming. The whole character of 
disease was different from what it is now. The low 



194 Personal Memoirs. 



types of fever which we see did not exist at all, except 
as the sequel of inflammatory disorders. "When a 
bilious or other active fever had exhausted its power, 
the patient immediately began to sink, and he could 
be kept up only by brandy and other stimulants. 
These active, inflammatory fevers we seldom see now, 
but, on the other hand, what is called the " typhoid 
fever." The introduction of "typhoid" as a general 
disease was since the introduction of cholera in 1882. 
Many physicians thought that, from some unknown 
cause, the cholera, or that which produced cholera, 
had changed the character of diseases. Be that as it 
may, it is certain that Cincinnati, in 1825, 1826, and 
1827, was the victim of bilious fever, almost to the ex- 
tent of an epidemic. Within my own knowledge, 
many of the best known citizens had the fever, and some 
died. Among those who died was a German engineer, 
who boarded at the Broadway Hotel, and was much 
distinguished in his line. Another was my cousin, 
Mrs. Dr. Drake. A large part of the fever cases oc- 
curred in the south-east part of the town, between 
Third street and the river. The cause seemed to me 
wry evident: all the bottom part in that quarter had 
been often overflowed, and in early days had been little 
else than a marsh ; many of the lots had been filled and 
built upon without regard to their former condition. 
I think there must have been malarial poison in this 
part of the city for several years. However, the bil- 
ious fever pervaded the whole town, chiefly in the 
bottoms. Being well acquainted with physicians and 
familiar with statistics, I am compelled to believe 
there has been a great change in the character of dis- 
eases. The diseases now are of a lower type. It is 



Personal Memories. 195 



well known that at the close of last century and the 
beginning of this, bleeding was a common resort and 
remedy by the ablest physicians. It is equally well 
known that it is not so now. Somebody will say that 
is owing to a change in medical theories. In part, no 
doubt, but not altogether so. It is to be presumed 
that most physicians are honest in their attempts to 
heal the patient, and that is the interest of the profes- 
sion. When, eighty years since, the most eminent 
physicians resorted to bleeding as an efficient remedy, 
it is to be presumed that they thought it a good rem- 
edy for the inflammatory diseases then prevalent. 
When, since the introduction of the cholera (1832- 
1850), they seldom bleed, but resort to tonic, as well 
as external remedies, it is to be presumed that they 
do it with an equally honest conviction that this is the 
most successful. In other words, the change is due 
rather to the results of practical observation at the 
bedside than to merely medical theories. There is, 
and always will be, two schools of medical philosophy 
in regard to the treatment of diseases. One affirms it 
best to kill it by destroying its germ by the anti-phlo- 
gistic system. The other declares it best to strengthen 
the constitution to meet and conquer it. My mother, 
who was very intelligent, and herself had the yellow 
fever in 1794, was of the firm opinion that it was bet- 
ter to strengthen the system by tonics than to weaken 
it by any anti-phlogistics. Such is my opinion, and it 
seems to be the popular opinion of physicians of the 
present day. 

Here we come to another change, or reported 
change in the character of diseases. This is the much 
greater number of (at least reported) nervous and 



196 Personal Memories. 

heart diseases. That in name and appearance these 
have largely increased, is beyond question. They are 
attributed by nearly all writers on medical and social 
science to changes in society. It is said that society 
is more active, more excited, more luxurious, and to 
use the common phase, more high-strung, and, there- 
fore, the brain is overworked, and the nerves over- 
stimulated. There is, no doubt, some truth in this 
theory, but it is greatly exaggerated. It is question- 
able whether, in fact, heart diseases have greatly in- 
creased. There are more reported, but are there more 
in fact? A century ago heart diseases were not un- 
derstood and defined accurately. Deaths from this 
cause were called "sudden deaths," or, "apoplexy," 
or some accident. Now they are understood and prop- 
erly named like other diseases. So an " overworked 
brain" is an exaggerated cause of disease. I have 
seen hundreds, I may say thousands of students and 
professional men, and never met with an overworked 
brain yet. That such a thing exists, I have no doubt, 
but it is much more rare than is commonly supposed. 
Indolence, to the extent of a neglected mind and body, 
is a much more common disease than an overworked 
brain. The celebrated Dr. Cadogan (an English phy- 
sician), came much nearer the causes of gout, dyspep- 
sia, and chronic diseases than they do now-a-days. He 
said that the causes of them are intemperence, indo- 
lence, and vexation. By vexation, he meant, I sup- 
pose, what I mean by " worry," a constant bother and 
anxiety about a thousand things, upon which there 
ought not to be any anxiety, but about which thou- 
sands of minds are constant^ vexed. Here we come 
to what I believe to be the real cause of increased ner- 



Personal Memories. 197 

vous and heart diseases. There have been two great 
causes actively at work within a few years to stimu- 
late and excite the minds of intelligent people. The 
first is the immensely increased and diffused " news,'' 
or events, or gossip of the world instantly made 
known and made almost ubiquitous round the earth. 
It is impossible that this should not excite some minds 
beyond the point of a healthy action. We need 
not analyze this effect beyond the very evident 
increase of certain classes of crimes, by the constant 
repetition of similar events continually committed. 
Then the vastly increased power of locomotion has 
caused innumerable casualties, and often crimes, that 
were unknown before. High living, constant excite- 
ment, perpetual going and coming are the real causes 
of the nervous diseases, insanities, and suicides which 
are prevalent at this day. 

A year or two after the time I have referred to there 
occurred a social event, which was, at once, strange 
and amusing. The story, as it came to me, and was 
current in town, and, no doubt, in the main correct, 
was this. General Lytle, one of the oldest and best 
known citizens, was coming down the Ohio in a steam- 
boat, when a passenger, a civil and intelligent person, 
introduced himself to Lytle as General Ross, princi- 
pal chief of the Cherokees. Now, it was known that 
Ross was chief of the Cherokees, and that he was an 
educated person, having been at the school in Corn- 
wall, Connecticut, when I was studying law at the 
neighboring town of Litchfield. Ross showed Gen- 
eral Lytle letters from several persons of distinction, 
and had one, I believe, to Lytle himself. He, there- 
fore, took the Cherokee chief to be what he repre- 



198 Personal Memories. 



sented himself, treated him civilly, and invited him to 
his home. I did not see the chief, but heard for two 
or three days of his driving around the city and being 
treated as a distinguished person. One evening a 
great party was given at Judge Este's, on Ninth street 
near Main. "Whether the party was given to General 
Ross, I do not know; but, ho was invited and ex- 
pected. I was invited, but did not go. Next morn- 
ing I met two or three gentlemen, on the street, who 
were talking and laughing over a great joke. It 
turned out that General Ross was not at the party, 
and was only a smart, but common mulatto. I was 
boarding with a gentleman who had a witty and im- 
pudent mulatto servant, and felt sure that he knew 
something about it. So I said to him : " Charlev, I 
hear General Ross was not at Judge Este's party/' 
Giggling from ear to ear, he said, "No, sir; he was 
tired." " Tired ! Where did he go ?" " He— he— he ! 
lie said he was tired of the white folks ; and went to 
a nigger ball !" Such was the end of polite attentions 
to General Ross, of the Cherokees. Such impositions 
often happen when people are anxious to notice dis- 
tinguished strangers. In this case the imposition was 
harmless and amusing, but I saw one that made no 
little shame and mortification. When I graduated at 
Princeton, our class, as was customary, gave a com- 
mencement ball. At that ball was present, by invita- 
tion, the then noted Baron Hoffman. lie drove up in 
a fine carriage and four horses, making all the show 
he could. It was about the last of his appearance as 
a distinguished stranger on the American boards. He 
had come out from Germany as Baron Hoffman, re- 
lated to some of the most distinguished of German 



Personal Memories. 199 



nobility, and brought the most ample credentials — 
letters from well-known persons — receipts and certifi- 
cates of business, and, withal, was a polite, intelligent 
man. His bearing was said to be impressive, and, as 
a titled gentleman of high standing, made favorable 
impression on the ladies. He began rather modestl^v, 
but made his way in society ; was well received ; man- 
aged to borrow a good deal of money, and moved in 
the very best society, in days when there was a real 
aristocracy. lie was engaged to marry, it was confi- 
dently said, Miss L., one of the very elite of New 
York. It was about this time that he made bis ap- 
pearance at our ball, and in a few days we heard the 
finale of this well-played farce — very near a tragedy. 
There were no swift steamers and telegraph in those 
days, but, at length, letters were received from Ger- 
many showing that this fellow was the valet of the real 
Baron Hoffman, and had stolen letters and money 
from his master. 

Then came a flood of writs and suits from his de- 
luded creditors, and, under the barbarous laws of im- 
prisonment for debt, this pseudo Baron Hoffman was 
thrown into jail. True to his character, he deter- 
mined that the end of the play should be as complete 
as the beginning. One morning he was found nearly 
faint, with his uncovered arm dripping blood, with a 
razor near. He was sadly announcing his determina- 
tion to leave this cruel world, when it was discovered 
that he had opened a vein, but taken care not to cut 
au artery. He was bound up, and his creditors find- 
ing nothing but bones to pick, soon dismissed him; 
and Baron Hoffman disappeared from the American 
stage. This kiud of imposition is common, eveu now, 



200 Personal Memories. 



and will be, so long as many people prefer empty 
titles to good character. 

In the summer of 182G, Mr. Benjamin Drake and 
myself undertook to make a little book, descriptive of 
Cincinnati, as an inducement to immigration. That 
turned out to be " Cincinnati in 1826." In order to 
do this cheaply and correctly, we took the cen- 
sus and statistics of the city ourselves. It was a la- 
borious task ; but we were young, and the weather 
pleasant. We divided the work by Main street, I tak- 
ing the east side. At that time, there were very few 
inhabitants beyond Race street, so that the division 
was nearly equal. Taking the census and taking sta- 
tistics is and must ever be instructive and amusing. 
Such work takes you into the very homes of the peo- 
ple, and into the very heart of the work-shops. One 
thing struck me with surprise, to which the present 
state of society presents an unhappy contrast. I went 
into hundreds of houses, at all hours of the day, often 
at meal times, and saw all conditions of people. In 
all this visitation into the recesses of society, I never 
met a single pauper family, nor one really impover- 
ished. The great body of people were mechanics, 
with plenty to do, generally owning their own houses, 
and, in fact, a well-to-do people. It is such a popula- 
tion which makes the worth and strength of the city, 
when it grows to great size, filled with all sorts of 
people. There will be found many improvements, 
much wealth and show ; but beside all the art and 
elegance, stands gaunt poverty, events which make 
humanity shudder, and distress which no human 
power can relieve. In the midst of it all, it is only 
the great middle class, which preserves the social sys- 



Personal Memories. 201 

tcm from decay and ruin. Cincinnati in 182G, was 
composed almost wholly of this class, and it was 
pleasant to see them, in their plain but independent 
houses, enjoying the fruit of their labor. The contrast 
between then and now is in every aspect great. Cin- 
cinnati in 1826 had 1G,200 people. Cincinnati in 1870, 
had just 200,000 more. Cincinnati in 1826 had nei- 
ther gaslights, nor public waterworks, nor public 
schools (although there were schools), for, it was not 
until 1824, that there was a state law authorizing tax- 
ation for schools, and, it was not until 1830, that the 
law was carried into effect in Cincinnati. The water- 
works had been previously established by Col. Samuel 
Davis, afterward mayor, but were held by a private 
company, who, several years after, sold them to the 
city. None of the great institutions for charity, which 
are now the pride, as well as the beneficence of the 
city, were then erected, except the Cincinnati Com- 
mercial Hospital, which was founded by Dr. Drake. 
It is true the town was then small, but the condition 
of the people was widely different. In proportion to 
the population, there was not one in need of these 
charities where there are ten to-day. When I look 
back upon the Cincinnati of 1826, and then upon Cin- 
cinnati in 1876, I find it difficult to say that being 
big, rich, and showy, has made society better or hap- 
pier. 



202 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Presidency— Candidates in 1824— John Quincy 
Adams— Clay's Vote for Adams— Speech at Mack's 
Tavern — Henry Clay and his Character. 

In 1828, there were six candidates for the presi- 
dency in the canvass, and four in the election. In the 
summer of this year Adams, Clinton, Clay, Jackson, 
Calhoun, and Crawford were all canvassed; but, in the 
end, Clinton and Calhoun were dropped out. There 
were then no great or interesting political issues. 
The administration of Mr. Monroe had been one of 
perfect calm, except some casual controversies about 
contracts and offices, which interested the nation 
scarcely at all. But the cabinet of Mr. Monroe was 
like a powder magazine, which only needed a spark 
of lire to make an explosion and a conflagration. It 
was made up, as was said of an English ministry, of 
"all the talents;''* and, of course-, all the talents must 
be ambitious. There were plans, schemes, and coun- 
ter-schemes which were never fully known until 
twenty years afterward. 

John Quincy Adams, "William II. Crawford, John 
C. Calhoun, and John M'Lcan were all members of 
Monroe's cabinet, and were all afterward proposed for 
the presidency. Henry Clay had just been the dis- 
tinguished Speaker of the House of Representatives ; 
De Witt Clinton was mounted on the Erie canal, and 
had just triumphed over his political enemies; An- 



Personal Memoirs. 203 



drew Jackson was at the Hermitage, with his laurels, 
fresh, green, and glorious, from the battlefield of New 
Orleans — as Counselor Sampson called it, "that death- 
bed of British glory." In fine, there was then upon 
the political stage a galaxy of talent, genius, and 
brilliancy which, I think, may be fairly said, had not 
been exceeded in a previous period, and has not been 
equaled since. The canvass for the presidency was 
conducted, not upon any general principles, or in 
reference to any special policy, but with reference to 
individuals and to their localities. Mr. Adams was a 
favorite in New England, Mr. Clay in the West, Cal- 
houn and Crawford divided the South, while Jackson 
had an under-current of popularity, which pervaded 
all parts of the country, and was produced by his 
military exploits, and not a little by the boldness of 
his character and the audacity of his conduct. De 
Witt Clinton was dropped, and confined his operations 
to New York. Calhoun, living near Crawford, was 
also dropped; and John M'Lean was not proposed 
until many years after. The others, Adams, Clay, 
Crawford, and Jackson were voted for. Neither of 
the candidates had a majority, and the election was 
made by the house of representatives. 

Governor Wolcott said :" We don't need to have 
brilliant talents. There is old Sitgreaves, of Pennsyl- 
vania, will make as good a president as anybody. 
You want a man of business and integrity to take 
care of the business of the government." Sitgreaves 
was a member of congress from Eastern Pennsyl- 
vania, and interested in statistics.* Whether Wol- 



See Chapter IX. 



204 Personal Memories. 



cott's theory was right or not, the American people 
have practically acted upon it. Such men as Mon- 
roe, Van Burcn, Polk, Taylor, Pierce, Buchanan, and 
Grant have been elected, while Clinton, Clay, Web- 
ster, and Calhoun could not be. 

John Quincy Adams, who was elected by the house, 
in 1825, had much claim to be considered a man of 
genius and learning. Except Jefferson, he was the 
only one of all cur presidents wdio was really a liter- 
ary man. lie was once a professor of belles-lettres in 
Harvard College, and his public addresses arc both 
able and ornate. He occasionaly wrote poetry, al- 
though that was certainly not his forte. His lines to 
" A Bereaved Mother " are really good : 

" Sure, in the mansions of the blest, 
When infant innocence ascends, 
Some angel, brighter than the rest, 
The spotless spirit's flight attends. 

"Then dry henceforth the bitter tear; 
Their part and thine inverted see : 
Thou wert their guardian angel here, 
They guardian angels now to thee." 

Mr. Adams, like his father, was a Federalist, but in 
consequence of their revolutionary companionship, 
Jefferson favored the Adamses, and put John Quincy 
in the way of political promotion, lie began in the 
diplomatic service and was abroad many years, and 
at one time Minister to Prussia. At the time of the 
election in 1824, he was, undoubtedly, the best diplo- 
matist, the best acquainted with our foreign affairs, 
and most experienced statesman in the country. He 
had been, from boyhood up, drilled in public affairs. 
lie had an educated mind, and was thoroughly quali- 



Personal 31cmories. 205 



fied for public business. After bis term in the presi- 
dency expired, be made tbe novel experiment of a re- 
tired president serving in tbe bouse of representatives, 
and it was tbe most successful, although not tbe most 
practical part of bis life. lie was called by the notorious 
Tom Marshall, tbe " Old Man Eloquent," and he used 
his eloquence with a power which few could resist. 
lie took part in the earliest and greatest discussions 
upon the right of petition and human freedom. In 
those days, the slave power was largely predominant. 
It seems wonderful at this day, when the whole tone 
and temper of the nation 'are different, that such an 
abject spirit should have been exhibited by a large 
part of the Northern people, aptly and truly called 
Dough-faces. But so it was, and not till tbe discus- 
sions on tbe right of petition had reached tbe con- 
science, as well as the spirit of the North, was there 
any recovery from the abject submission, which the im- 
perious slave power demanded of the Northern repre- 
sentatives. Mr. Adams' speeches from 1833 to 1842, 
on the subject of slavery and right of petition, and 
tbe annexation of Texas, were the best, tbe ablest, and 
the most effective made in the country. For his course 
in the anti-slavery movement, for bis clear views of 
tbe constitution, and bis defense of human freedom, 
be will be remembered in after ages. He was never 
popular with politicians, nor even regarded as a party 
leader. No man ever questioned his integrity. No 
raaa ever doubted bis patriotism. Of him, with more 
truth than of Chatham, it might be said : " Tbe sec- 
retary stood alone. Modern degeneracy had not 
reached him." Mr. Adams knew that he stood alone, 
and among his methods of self-defense and asserting 



20 G Personal Memories. 

truth was his "Diary," which has become memorable 
in the history of the country. With it, he demolished 
Jonathan Russell, a colleague commissioner in mak- 
ing the Treaty of Ghent. Russell, as well as some 
other people, was willing to insinuate that Mr. Adams 
wished to give up the exclusive rights to the Mis- 
sissippi. Mr. Adams, by the use of his Diary, showed 
such complete detail of elates and circumstances, as 
put an end to that charge. There was another little 
historical incident worth remembering, though history 
will not record it. Mr. Clay was also a commissioner 
at Ghent, and when in the canvas of 1824, the news- 
papers intimated that Adams was inclined to give up 
the exclusive right to the Mississippi, Clay came out 
with a card, saying, he had something to say on that 
subject in a future time. Mr. Adams wrote a card of 
five lines, saying, " now is the day, and I defy the test 
of time, of talent, and of human scrutiny." It is 
enough to say, that the future time never came, when 
Mr. Clay was willing to utter another word on the 
subject. The fate of Jonathan Russell was not one 
he wished to share. Mr. Adams died in the hall of 
the house of representatives, the theater of his last and 
greatest glory. Falling into the arms of a friend his 
last words were: "This is the last of earth!' 1 1 
know T not whether any monument was erected to him ; 
but he needed it not. For, whether the ages to come 
shall hear of him or not, he could have said with Hor- 
ace — 

" Exegi monumentum sere perrennius." 

Ill the election of 1824, although I did not vote, my 
sympathies were all witli Adams. Perhaps they 
would not have been had De Witt Clinton continued 



Personal 31emories. 207 



a candidate; for, in spite of Governor Wolcott's 
opinion, I did admire genius and learning, and Do 
"Witt Clinton was undoubtedly among the most brill- 
iant of our public men. When the election of No- 
vember, 1824, came on, I had no vote ; but, on arriv- 
ing at Cincinnati, in the summer of 1825, found my 
friends and the public generally excited over the state 
of public affairs. The election which had just taken 
place-was the second one in which the house of rep- 
resentatives had been called upon to take part. The 
first one was the celebrated case of Burr and Jefferson, 
which caused so much danger and controversy, that 
an amendment to the constitution was made, being 
the twelfth of the additional articles. In the original 
constitution it was provided that the electors should 
vote for two persons, and the one having the highest 
number of votes should be president, and the person 
having the next highest be vice-president; and, if a 
tie, the house should choose the president. In this 
no allowance was made as to whom the people may 
have intended for president and vice-president. This 
made no difference in the election of Washington or 
John Adams, both of whom had the highest vote at 
the time of their respective elections. In the summer 
of 1800, there would have been difficulty if the Federal 
ticket had been elected, for it was arranged that Charles 
Cotesworth Pink~ney (of S. C) should receive one 
vote less than Mr. Adams, and he did. But the lie- 
publican ticket had the majority of electors, and on 
that Jefferson and Burr had the same number of votes. 
Jefferson, however, was intended, and nobody dreamed 
that Burr would be seriously set up as president. The 
Federalists hated Jefferson, and took the opportunity 



208 Personal Memories. 

of voting in the house of representatives for Burr. 
There the vote is by states. The Federalists held 
states enough, with two or three equally divided, to 
prevent the election of Jefferson. The balloting went 
on for several days, amidst an intense excitement. At 
length Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, with half a dozen 
others, holding the votes of two states, determined 
to make an election, but determined also to make 
an "arrangement" with Mr. Jefferson for re- 
taining some friends in office, which was done, 
and the election was made. This transaction caused 
the almost unanimous adoption of the twelfth addi- 
tional article to the constiiution, which provides that 
the electors shall specify the president and vice-presi- 
dent. Under this article the election of 1825 was 
made. Four candidates had been voted for : Jackson 
receiving 99 electoral votes; Adams, 84 ; Crawford, 
41, and Clay, 37. Jackson had a plurality a little over 
one-third of the whole number; but it was assumed 
in the popular mind that, because he had a plurality, 
he ouirht to be elected. Such was not the fact. Mr. 
Adams was elected bv the votes of thirteen states ; 
ten having voted in whole or in part for Mr. Adams, 
and three (Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri) which had 
voted for Mr. Clay. Mr. Clay's friends had consulted 
together, and voted in a body for Mr. Adams. This 
surprised the enthusiastic friends of Jackson, and dis- 
pleased those of Crawford. The result was that there 
was a combination of the friends of Jackson and 
Crawford against Adams and Clay. The jealousy, 
which has ever existed in the South against the 
Northern men, broke out with new force. Adams was 
assailed with a malignity which is scarcely equaled in 



Personal Memories. 209 



the fierce conflicts of this day. John Randolph, of 
Virginia, said that John Quincy Adams was only 
serving dnt his father's time. Mr. Adams, however, 
was the last man to put himself out for the scold- 
ing of Thersites or the gossip of Mrs. Grundy. All 
that can be remembered now of Randolph, so much 
talked about in his day, is the "Remorse" written on 
his card when death was near. AVho would live a 
brilliant wit or a proud aristocrat, only to feel at last 
" remorse ?" 

In the formation of his cabinet, Mr. Adams made 
Mr. Clay secretary of state. Then the storm burst 
forth, and from one end of the country to the other, 
"bargain, intrigue, and management," was shouted 
forth. It was declared that because Clay and his 
friends voted for Adams in the house, and Mr. Adams 
made Clay secretary of state, that therefore there was 
a bargain between them. It happened, how T ever, that 
Clay had declared to several gentlemen before the 
election, that if the election in the house should be 
between Adams and Jackson, that he should vote for 
Adams, on the ground of his superior civil qualifica- 
tions. He said this to my friend Dr. Drake, who, as 
others did, published that fact. This ought to have 
satisfied anybody; but politicians, like wolves of the 
prairie, never leave a scent until they destroy their 
victim. They did not destroy Mr. Clay, but they 
created that intense party spirit which has divided 
the country ever since. Mr. Clay has long since been 
acquitted of anything dishonorable in his vote for Mr. 
Adams, but never was a noble bird more hawked at 
by mousing owls, or beset with buzzing insects, than 
was this greatest of political warriors. Fortunately 



210 Personal Memories. 



he was made by nature with all the courage, boldness, 
and strength, which was necessary for a conflict with 
the combined array of ambitious rivals, political hyenas, 
and ignorant mobs, which were arrayed to overthrow 
his power and blacken his name. Nevertheless, brave 
and strong as he was, it took all his strength, courage, 
and eloquence to meet his assailants successfully, even 
in the West. Here Jacksonism was strong, and took 
a popular hold on many people not inclined to it, by 
the plausible argument that Jackson having received 
the most votes ought, therefore, to have been elected 
by the house. In Cincinnati, in 1825, the popular 
current was for Jackson, the next strongest was for 
Adams, and the last Clay. At the time I came out 
there were not more than two hundred and eighty 
original Clay men in Cincinnati, four times as many 
for Adams, and much more than both for Jackson. 
The Adams and Clay men, however, fused together 
after the appointment of Mr. Clay to the cabinet. 
The combined forces made a formidable party, which 
in 1833-1834 made the basis of the great Whig 
party of the next twenty years. Mr. Clay found it 
necessary to defend himself against the charge of 
"bargain, intrigue, and management." One of his 
defenses was a speech made at Cincinnati, in the sum- 
mer of 1825. A large number of the gentlemen of 
Cincinnati, originally friends of either Adams or Clay, 
gave him a public dinner at the Cincinnati Hotel, then 
kept by Mack, at the corner of Broadway and Front 
street. There were about two hundred present, and 
they were the elite of the city. I was fairly startled 
by the speech, winch was the most eloquent one I ever 
heard, in fiery utterance and energetic action. It was 



Personal Memories. 211 

utterly unlike that of Corwin or Webster, not supe- 
rior, but unlike. Mr. Clay was not like Adams or 
Webster, able to write a polished or eloquent argu- 
ment, nor like Corwin, able to adorn his speech with 
wit and humor; but he had more real soul than either. 
The power of personal magnetism, through eloquence, 
was greater than in any of his great rivals. His speech 
at the Cincinnati Hotel was not wholly on politics, but 
when he came to defend his vote in the house for 
Adams he tired up, his tall person seemed taller, his 
head and expression assumed a lofty bearing, with 
his foot advanced, and his arm raised, and his eye 
flashing, he seemed to defy, in his mere presence, 
the whole pack of hounds, who, under the name 
of Jackson, had yelped at his heels, and snarled at 
his fame. He said that he was compelled to choose 
between two distinguished citizens. " On one hand 
was a civilian, a statesman, versed in foreign affairs, 
and acquainted with business. On the other a mili- 
tary chieftain, practiced in war, and acquainted with 
armies. I would not, I could not, and I did not hes- 
itate." I saw Mr. Clay at other times, and followed 
his political fortunes with unflinching fidelity, be- 
cause he was a, I might say the only, leader of the 
Whig party; but I never thought him equal to Mr. 
Webster, nor ever liked him personally. This seems 
strange to myself, for there is no one man in public 
life who attracted so strongly so many personal fol- 
lowers. Horace Greeley stuck to him with the tenac- 
ity of Jonathan to David. On his defeat, in 1841, I 
saw strong, intellectual gentlemen ready to weep; and 
I dare say some did. Mr. Calhoun was the only man 
who in personal following could rival him. Calhoun 



212 Personal Memories. 

was said to have been exceedingly attractive to young 
men, and lie always paid great attention to them. 
While I admired as much as anyone the splendid 
bearing of Mr. Clay, and adopted to its full extent his 
American policy, I had no personal sympathy with 
him. He belonged to the Southern school of poli- 
ticians, and had an arbitrary, antagonistic way, which 
seemed to look down upon the quiet and unobstrusive 
class to which I belonged. Mr. Clay had, however, 
in that very class many of his warmest admirers. In 
after vears, I found that Webster had much of the 
same sort of bearing, and my admiration for him 
ceased with his speech on the 7th of March, 1850, 
when he undertook to prove that the laws of nature 
would keep slavery out of the territories of the West, 
and it was a matter of indifference whether we le°'is- 
lated upon it or not. Neither Clay nor Webster were 
men who had the moral courage to take a stand upon 
human rights, and defend it upon the ground of moral 
law. The Spirit of Laws (Montesquieu) had been writ- 
ten nearly a hundred and fifty years before, and yet these 
two great American leaders were behind that great 
work in the perception of moral justice. Mr. Clay 
deserves great credit, however, for being in favor of the 
gradual emancipation of Kentucky. This is part of his 
early record, and perhaps his early record is the best. 

Returning to the dinner at Mack's, his speech was 
very effective, and, while the unfitness of Jackson for 
the presidency was made clear, so also the charge of 
"bargain, intrigue, and management" was entirely 
disproved by the facts brought before the public. 
Nevertheless, neither facts nor argument had much 
effect on the great multitude of people, who are se- 



Personal Memories. 213 



duced by the glare of military glory. Jackson was 
elected in 1828, and the eight years of his administra- 
tion were tilled with the most extraordinary mixture 
of folly and patriotism, of domestic factions, and na- 
tional boasting ; of political wisdom iu some things, 
of social scandal in others; of the most extraordinary 
financial, schemes, and the most extraordinary finan- 
cial disasters.* Mr. Clay resigned from the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Adams, and soon after re-entered 
congress. 

He, like Webster and Calhoun, always thought him- 
self the proper man to make a president — was four 
times a candidate, and three times voted for in the 
electoral college. He was voted for in 1824, 1832, and 
1844. In 1840, he was a candidate before the Harris- 
burg Whig Convention, and defeated by Harrison. 
He thought, and perhaps history will show, that the 
Whigs made a great blunder in not nominating him. 
lie would have been elected, and, unlike Harrison,would 
in all probability have lived, and presented to the 
country and the world a far different and far better 
administration than that of the weak and prevaricat- 
ing Tyler. In the election of 1844, Mr. Clay was de- 
feated by the anti-slavery vote given to Birney, which 
operated directly in favor of Polk, the Democratic 
candidate. !New York gave Polk only 5,000 majority, 
while 15,000 were polled for Birney, the Abolition 
candidate. It was fatal to Mr. Clay, and fatal to the 
Whig party, which, although successful in 1848, went 
to pieces for this very cause. 

The world can not fail to admit and admire the 

* See journals of the clay. 



214 Personal Memories. 

stern heroism and the moral courage which induces 
some men to leave all forms, parties, and organiza- 
tions, even friends and sound policy, to vote against 
popular opinion, and maintain for conscience's sake a 
small and powerless faction. But, whether this is 
wise; whether it is for that general welfare, which is 
the ohject of all good government, will remain doubt- 
ful until eternity has passed its judgment. Except to 
stir up the hostility, and finally the open secession of 
the slaveholders, it is impossible to see any good in 
the defeat of Mr. Clay by a side faction. Birxey and 
his followers were conscientious, upright, and many of 
them able men; but it is certain they accomplished 
nothing: until Providence afflicted the South with that 
insanity, described in the proverb — "Whom the gods 
will destroy they first make mad." 

I fully and always sympathizer! with the anti-slavery 
party, but believed that it was safer to follow John 
Quincy Adams, who was the foremost, boldest, and 
ablest opposer of slavery, in a great and powerful 
organization, than to follow a small, however consci- 
entious faction, which, in itself, could not be success- 
ful. Mr. Clay was one of those, both North and 
South, who made the celebrated compromise of 1850. 
It is useless to say, that in my opinion, that compro- 
mise was infamous, a thing not to bo endured by any 
man who believed in human rights or Christian prin- 
ciples. Compromises are always false to principle, 
even in a constitution of government; but when they 
compromise humanity, morals, and rights, they give 
just cause for resistance in all forms. Mr. Clay was 
then in the senate, and survived this transaction but 
a short time. His character is easily understood. He 



Personal Memories. 21. 



was born poor, and brought up with little regular edu- 
cation, and, for that reason, was never able to shine as 
a writer or as a disciple of Cicero, with the ore rotundo 
of a Roman senator. It would be as great an error 
to compare him to Demosthenes, for the Greek orator 
was an accomplished scholar. The art of Demosthenes 
was not the wild utterance of nature, but the skillful 
art of the student — studious to shine in an audience 
of scholars. Clay's eloquence was natural, and the 
only art he had was to adapt it to his audience, and 
this he did with great skill. Whether he spoke to 
the polite hearer in the senate, or to the untutored 
hunters of Kentucky — he knew well to whom he was 
speaking — and studied the means to convince or to 
please them. Brought up among slaveholders, where 
the passions predominate more than the reason, he was 
fiery and impetuous, but, at the same time, possessed 
of that strong sense which pointed out the necessity 
of courteous manners to a public man, and the policy 
of pleasing the multitude. Upon the whole, Henry 
Clay was one well calculated to be a leader among men, 
and to attract the un mingled admiration of his follow- 
ers. If he had been more of a scholar, and more of 
what the world calls a moralist, he would have had 
fewer followers and admirers among the Western peo- 
ple, who loved more the frankness, courage, and gal- 
lantry of their chief, than they did the acquirements 
of a scholar, or the strict manners of a moralist. Mr. 
Adams had both these, but never, even in New Eng- 
land, had half the personal popularity of Clay. This 
difference of mind and manners made their political 
union very surprising to the public, and gave rise to 
some of the severest political taunts which were ever 



21 G Personal Memories. 



uttered in public life. One of these, and perhaps the 
bitterest ever uttered, was that of John Randolph. 
He said, in the senate, that the union of Adams and 
Clay was the " union of Black George and Blifil — of 
the Puritan and the black leg."* On this Clay chal- 
lenged him. A duel was fought, Randolph, I believe, 
firing in the air, and acknowledging himself clearly 
in the wrong. 

But few anecdotes of Clay remain. Two I will 
mention as illustrating a species of wit which Clay 
had and used very aptly. The first occurred in 
his well-known speech to the hunters of Kentucky. 
In 1816, he had been one of a majority in congress 
who repealed the per day compensation of members 
of congress, and substituted a salary. Young politi- 
cians will be astonished to learn that the salary was 
only the humble sum of $1,500 a year, while now they 
have modestly voted themselves $5,000. Small as this 
sum was, and innocent as was the act, it raised a storm 
of excitement and indignation. Of the majority 
which passed that act, I think only two were re-elected. 
Those two were William C. Lowndes, of South Caro- 
lina, and Henry Clay, of Kentucky. Mr. Lowndes 
was a very able and eminent man of his day. He 
came to West Point to place a son there, and I heard 
him tell my father that the act was right, and he never 
gave a more conscientious vote in his life. The aris- 
tocracy of South Carolina made no complaint, and 
Lowndes was easily re-elected. It came near being 
very different with Mr. Clay. His district ran back 
from Lexington, where he lived, into the mountains, 

* Black George and Blifil were two villains in Fielding's 
novel of Tom Jones. 



Personal Memories. 217 

and among the frontiersmen. This class — called the 
" hunters of Kentucky " — had been very much at- 
tached to Clay, but this act disgusted them. In their 
simple lives, and limited views of life, they thought 
such a salary enormous, and especially as its members 
voted it themselves. Mr. Clay foresaw the storm, and 
called a meeting. At that meeting many of the 
'• hunters ' : were present, with lowering brows. In 
the course of his speech Mr. Clay said, fixing his eye 
on one of his old supporters : " Suppose, my friend, 
you had an old rifle, which you had borne through 
the hills many a day, and it had never failed you, but 
now you put it to your shoulder, and it snapped, but 
hung-fire, would 3'ou break tli^ stock and throw it 
away, or would you try it again ?" " I would try it 
again ; we '11 try you again, Harry Clay," shouted the 
hunters. 

On another occasion, toward the close of his life, he 
had a party of friends to dine with him at Ashland. 
While at dinner, a servant called him out to see a 
gentleman. He apologized to the company. His caller 
was an old client. When he returned he told what 
had occurred. His client had asked him to plead his 
case before the Bourbon County Court. Mr. Clay 
said that he had retired from business, and did not 
like to take any case. But his friend said he really 
must, for he had always been his attorney. "But," 
said Mr. Clay, " if I come, I must charge you a fee, 
which you will perhaps not be willing to pay." " How 
much, Mr. Clay ?" " Four hundred dollars." " Then," 
said his client, " you are engaged." " Ah !" said 
Clay to his guests, " when we are old we are like the 



218 Personal Memories. 



tortoise. You must put coals of fire on our backs to 
make us move." 

Toward the close of his life, Mr. Clay joined the 
Episcopal Church, and died in peace with all man- 
kind. In England he would have been called, what 
lie was — the Great Commoner. 



Personal Memories. 219 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Thomas Corwin ; his Genius, Career, Eloquence, and 
Character — Jackson ; his Canvass for the Presidency — 
"Truth's Advocate " — Burr and Jackson. 

In the summer of 1825, I took a short journey 
through the Miami country on horseback. I was 
riding alone in a piece of woods, between Hamilton 
and Lebanon, when I overtook a young man also on 
horseback. There was something in his appearance 
which struck my attention. lie was very dark in 
complexion and hair, with a sort of swarthy look, 
more like an Indian than the whites. He was full- 
fleshed, with a quick, piercing eye, and pleasant ex- 
pression. We made ourselves known, and I found 
that he was Corwin, afterward known as Tom Cor- 
win, the " wagon-boy." He got this soubriquet from 
the fact that he had driven wagons in his youth. He 
was now at the bar, and was returning from the court 
at Hamilton to his home at Lebanon. As there is, I 
believe, no memoir of him, and as few men were so 
deservedly distinguished, I will here relate what I 
know of him, and what came to my ears from authen- 
tic sources. He was born in Kentucky, near Mays- 
ville. Thence his family moved, at the close of the 
last century, to or near the present town of Lebanon. 
They were among the oldest and best pioneer settlers 
of Warren county. There he grew up, with only the 
primitive education which was given in the family and 



220 Personal Memories. 

losr school-houses. But, where there is a native 
vigor, brightness, and quickness of intellect, with an 
ambitious spirit, it does not take a great deal of classic 
learning to give education, or make a successful life. 
Convin had all the vigor and vivacity of intellect re- 
quired, and the great talent of a taste for reading. 
Reading; gives both fullness and breadth of mind. 
Corwin, in after years, had both, but the brilliance of 
his eloquence, his wit, and humor were due to other 
and even better qualities. He had a most genial disposi- 
tion, kind feelings, and an almost marvelous suscepti- 
bility to the humorous points of men, society, and sit- 
uations. No man better understood the keenness of 
irony, nor the power of an argument when feathered 
with wit and made pleasing by humor. In fine, he 
stood alone among orators, by the peculiar and re- 
markable character of his mind. Perhaps the best 
way to give some idea of him as an orator will be by 
practical illustrations. His first public appearance 
w r as in the Ohio legislature. That was near fifty years 
ago, when some of the primitive laws and institutions 
still remained in Ohio. Among others, the whipping- 
post still remained, whipping being an old New Eng- 
land punishment tor small offenders. Some member 
had introduced a bill repealing the whipping law. 
Upon this, a member from Trumbull county rose and 
said he saw no objection to the whi[>ping-[>ost. He 
always observed that when a man was whipped in his 
state (Connecticut) that he immediately left the state. 
Corwin arose and said that " he knew a great many 
people had come to Ohio from Connecticut, but he 
never before knew the reason for their coming !" A 
few years after this, Corwin was a member of congress 



Personal Memories. 221 

from the Warren county district. There was also in 
the house a General Crary (general in the militia), 
from Michigan. Crary made a pompous speech on the 
boundary question, flaming with the eloquence of war. 
Corwin answered with a description of the heroism, 
victories, experiences, and accomplishments of a mili- 
tia general. He represented the gallant militia as- 
sembling on training-day, some with cornstalks, some 
with canes, and some with umbrellas, flanked on the 
risrht with wagons of watermelons, and on the left 
with carts of gingerbread, the whole inspirited with 
the rattling drum and squeaking life. Then appeared 
the heroic general heading his troops in a tremendous 
charge on the watermelons. His nodding plumes at 
at the head of the column, while rusty swords and 
broken firelocks slew and slashed the watermelons ! 
From scenes like these the illustrious general of Mich- 
igan had returned, flushed with glory and full of 
heroic experience, to lead an army against the invaders 
on the border ! The house was carried away with 
mirth, and General Crary was heard of no more. 
Corwin continued in congress, and a short time after 
appeared as one of the orators of the great Harrison 
campaign, in 1840. He was known then as " Tom 
Corwin, the w T agon boy." That campaign was sig- 
nalized, among other remarkable features, by giving 
soubriquets to the political chiefs, which signified some 
alliance with common peo'ple. Governor Metcalfe, 
of Kentucky, a strong friend of Harrison, was known 
as " old stone-hammer," because he had been a stone- 
mason. So Corwin was called the" wagon boy." He 
appeared at almost all of the great meetings in the 
state, and was everywhere attended by crowds, lie 



222 Personal Memories. 



used to relate with much humor his reception one 
afternoon at Poland, Mahoning county. The West- 
ern Reserve (at least a large .part of it) is laid out with 
roads at right-angles, and on straight lines, meeting in 
the center of the township, where the town must be, 
whether or no. Such was Poland, and Corwin was 
put at the head of a procession marching on a straight 
line to Poland. The hour was late. There had been 
a delay. They could see the town-green tilled with 
people, and the platform erected. The deacons of 
the churches were the principal men, and managed the 
business. When Corwin arrived, one of the deacons 
arose, and said : " Brethren, this is Brother Cor-wine. 
Let us give Brother Cor-wine three cheers. One — 
hurra! Two— hurra ! Three— hurra !" All were 
given as regularly as the clock strikes, and Brother 
Corwine was much amused. 

It would be unsafe to judge from such examples that 
Corwin was not forcible in argument, for he was. 
But he chose, and perhaps rightly, to illustrate his ar- 
guments with those touches of wit and humor which 
kept the people in good temper, and fixed their atten- 
tion. On one occasion, in the heated canvass of 1844, 
I was present at one of the best exhibitions of his pe- 
culiar eloquence. It was at Carthage, near Cincin- 
nati. A grove of trees near that village had been a 
popular place for political gatherings. The nomina- 
tion of Polk and the Texas question had excited the 
Whigs, and they put forth their full strength to elect 
Henry Clay, which they confidently expected. The 
meeting at Carthage was a very large one. I estimated 
at the time that there were near 8,000 people pres- 
ent. However that may be, it was a large and spirited 



Personal Memories. 223 

meeting. The orator of the day was Corwin. The 
day was tine, the trees green above ns, and the audi- 
ence intelligent. Corwin began with what few orators 
dare do at that time — for the Democrats had made the 
name of Federalist odious — a splendid eulogy on Al- 
exander Hamilton. In this he was grave and cour- 
teous, pointing out the great abilities and services of 
Hamilton, in giving success aud stability to the treas- 
ury. From this he proceeded to the Texas question 
and all the matters of public policy. At last he came 
to the nomination of Polk, who was comparatively an 
unknown man. He had been selected as a sort of non- 
entity to defeat Van Buren, who ought to have been 
nominated. It was one of those blunders which the 
Democratic party frequently makes. The friends of 
Cass, in the convention of 1844, had defeated Van 
Buren, and in turn the friends of Van Buren defeated 
Cass in the electiou of 1848, when the Whig candi- 
date (Taylor) was elected. When Corwin came to 
mention Polk (the unknown) it was done with a humor 
which I have never seen surpassed. " And who have 
they nominated? James K. Polk, of Tennessee? 
(Then he paused, aud turning his head slowly from 
one side of the audience to the other, with the most 
surprised expression.) After that, who is safe ? " He 
closed his speech with the most rapturous applause. 

It was about two years after that the war with Mex- 
ico came on, and Corwin took part against the war. 
This is always a dangerous thing for a public man ; 
for in a war with a foreign country almost all men 
sympathize with their own country, however wrong 
it may be in a moral point of view. Few men who 
examine the question will think we had just cause of 



224 Personal Memories. 

war with Mexico. Yet, looking back over the thirty- 
years which have elapsed, no man can doubt that we 
have derived great and immense advantage from it. 
We got California and Nevada, with security for 
Texas, by the war with Mexico. If all moral ideas 
are to be excluded from the conduct of nations, and 
they have by common consent a right to aggrandize 
themselves at the expense of their neighbors, then a 
war to acquire California is as justifiable as a war for 
independence. Mr. Corwin did not take that view of 
it, and made a speech in the senate, which, in real 
vigor and excellence, has, perhaps, not been excelled 
in the American senate. lie had been, as I have 
said, a reader, with a good library. The examples of 
histoiy were before him, and he used them with signal 
effect. He said the country was large enough, and a 
war of ambition and conquest could only serve to de- 
moralize the people; that the war was unjust, and 
that if he were a Mexican he would receive the in- 
vaders with "bloody rites and hospitable graves." 
The last phrase was unfortunate, for his political op- 
ponents seized upon it as a want of patriotism. He 
had been talked of for the presidency, but after this 
he was seldom mentioned in this connection. Never- 
theless, his speech was one of the best examples of 
American oratory, and he remained in public office 
until the close of his life. 

The following letter from Henry Wilson, late Vice- 
President of the United States, to Joshua Giddings, of 
Ohio, shows what an extraordinary effect was pro- 
duced on the public mind by Corwin's speech on the 
Mexican War, and how the anti-slavery feeling was 
rising against the compromise measures of Webster 
and his friends : 



Personal Memories. 225 

" Natick, February 24, 1847. 
"Hon. J. i?. GUI dings: 

"Dear Sir: — I have received your favor of the 
12th inst., and am very much obliged to you for the 
information communicated. There is a strong feel- 
ing here in Massachusetts in favor of bold action, 
and the course of yourself and others, especially 
the Whigs from your state, meets the approbation of 
the great mass of our people. We are much pleased 
with the speeches of Hudson and Ashman, but the 
people are delighted with the speech of Corwin. He 
has touched the popular heart, and the question asked 
in the cars, streets, houses, and everywhere where 
men assemble, is : Have you read Tom Corwin's 
speech ? Its boldness and high moral tone meet 
the feelings here, and the people of New England 
will respond to it, and tens of thousands want to 
hear more from him. Tell him to come out, though, 
in favor of the Wilmot proviso. We all hope and 
expect it of him. We can give him every state in 
New England, if he will take the right ground against 
slavery. How I should like to vote for him and some 
good non-slaveholder tfor vice-president in 1848. * 
* * I suppose that Webster, Clayton, Mangum, and 
Crittenden will be against him, for his speech was a 
terrible rebuke to them, and I am much mistaken if 
some of them very readily forget or forgive him. 
Their position is a most disgraceful one, and I do not 
see how they are to get out of it. I hope you will 
continue to use every effort to bring our friends 
right. * * * 

"Yours, truly, 

" Henry Wilson." 



226 Personal Memories. 

Horace Greeley wrote at the same time to Giddings, 
saying that Corwin was his first choice for the presi- 
dency, and Seward for vice-president ! Reversing the 
order in which the distinguished New Yorker was 
held, and anticipating exactly what Greeley did when 
he defeated the nomination of Seward in the Chicago 
Convention of 18(30. 

For twenty years after this, Corwin continued in 
public office. He was embassador to Mexico, and 
member of congress from his old district, and finally 
a member of the Peace Convention. Just before 
his death, sitting in a large party, he said, with 
some bitterness, that he would be remembered only as 
a jester or a humorist. In this he did himself injus- 
tice. He did use wit and- humor, to illustrate his 
points and conciliate the people; but behind these al- 
ways lay great principles of truth and justice. We can 
not place Corwin on the same level with Hamilton, 
Adams, or Clinton ; but we can say that no man 
among them was animated with a better spirit, or saw 
truth in a clearer light, or more steadily advocated the 
best interests of his country. He was aline specimen 
of that sort of a man who sprung up in the pioneer 
age. With no great education, with no societ} T of the 
great, he was the peer of those who had, and lived in 
a republican country with just ideas of what a repub- 
lic should be. 

On the accession of Fillmore to the presidency, 
in 1850, Corwin was appointed secretary of the 
treasury, and remained until the accession of Pierce, 
in March, 1853. In the summer of 1852, Mr. W. 
D. Gallagher and myself were appointed by Mr. Cor- 
win, under a resolution of the senate, to report 



Personal Memories. 227 



the statistics of our steam marine. In the course of 
that time, and while Corwin was secretary, I got a 
striking evidence of what is called " red tape," and 
the necessity of what I would call a business, rather 
than a civil, reform. I wanted the steani statistics of 
New Orleans, and went to one of the bureaus of the 
treasury department, where they should be, because it 
was the duty of the collectors of the ports to report 
them quarterly. There I found the head of the bu- 
reau talking with a friend on the price and virtues of 
partridges, evidently thinking the partridge question 
of more import ince than any public business. I asked 
him for the last report of the steam navigation of New 
Orleans, and he pointed me to a pigeon-hole in a bu- 
reau. I got hold of the collector's report, and, after 
an examination, found that it was wholly wrong. 
There were many more steamboats reported at New 
Orleans than existed there, or had been there for years. 
What was the matter, I could not see, until, after com- 
paring several reports, I found that the collector, or 
his clerk, had regularly copied into the last report all 
that was in the former one; so that in his report of 
what should be the then steam marine of New Or- 
leans, he had put fifty or a hundred steamboats de- 
stroyed or lost years before. In the same office I 
found another error of the same description. I w r anted 
the shipments of vessels owned on the Atlantic. It 
was a part of the same inquiry. The collectors of the 
ports were to report them. It could be done, because 
all vessels of the United States are registered, and, if 
they were lost, it would, after a time, be known. I 
turned in the same office to a book containing these 
reports. I took up that of Portland, Maine, and 



228 Personal 31emorics. 



found at one glance that it was totally deficient, and 
was obliged at last to resort to the shipping lists and 
insurance companies of New York. Here, it is very 
evident, is a want of reform in the very business of the 
department. It was the duty of the bureau officer to 
have these returns corrected. But what did he know 
about it? He was much more interested in partridges. 
The difficulty in these cases is the want of a super- 
vising officer. It is impossible for the secretary to 
supervise these bureaus ; for his whole time is taken 
up with members of congress and the general business 
of the treasury. It took me hours to get into Cor- 
win's office, and years after it took a long time to see 
Mr. Chase. Whether this evil has been corrected, I 
know not ; but it is certain if ever civil reform is un- 
dertaken, it must consist in a great deal more than in 
the mode of appointment. That is the least part of 
the evil. Appoint the minor officers as you may, who 
is to supervise the detached bureaus and see the whole 
machinery of work kept up to its whole duty. 

The canvass for the presidency in 1828 was con- 
ducted with great bitterness. Other elections since 
have excited more national feeling, but none have 
brought out more bitter personal assaults, defamations, 
and controversy. The reason for this is found in the 
personal characters of Jackson and Clay, who were 
the real opponents, although Adams was the candi- 
date against Jackson. Both these men had been 
brought up among slaves, and imbibed all the spirit 
of Southern aristocracy. They were both courteous 
men in society, and sometimes kind and generous, but 
impetuous in controversy, and despotic in bearing. 
They lived in the sige of dueling, and both had fought 



Personal Memories. 229 

duels. Jackson was called by his enemies, with al- 
most literal truth, " the hero of two wars and forty 
frays." lie and Benton had fought in the streets of 
Nashville, and he had killed two or three men in 
duels. He had commanded in Florida, when two 
men (Arbuthnot and Ambrister) were taken, as he 
claimed, as spies, and he hung them both up without 
any authority. On another occasion, he had tried and 
shot six militia-men. With many good qualities, 
especially courage, boldness, and enterprise, he was 
arbitrary and despotic. Jefferson was alive when 
Jackson was first mentioned for the presidency, in 
1824, and said he was just as lit for the presidency as 
a cock for a sailor. In fact, the Battle of New Orleans, 
which Counselor Sampson called "that deathbed of 
British glory," was his single, and, as it proved, his 
most successful claim to be president. He was first 
nominated somewhere in Western Pennsylvania, by 
some men who were, as politicians always are, hunting 
for an available man, and afterward came forward 
claiming the merit of having discovered Jackson. In 
Pennsylvania, and two or three other states, his nom- 
ination took like wild-fire, while the Southern states 
were carried for him by the friends of Crawford. Mr. 
Clay was unable to carry for Adams any one of the 
states which had voted for himself. Mr. Adams held 
and carried all his own strength, while he derived 
none from Mr. Clay. The causes of this were very 
obvious. The Western states, which had voted for 
Clay, were composed of exactly those people who are 
most susceptible to the idea of military glory. In 
fine, they were carried by the Battle of New Orleans. 
In the meanwhile, the canvass of 1828 was con- 



230 Personal Memories. 

ducted, as I have said, with extreme bitterness. 
The bitter taunt of Randolph, in the senate, upon 
Clay, and the duel which followed, were typical of the 
continued assaults upon Clay for the next four years. 
The attack upon Jackson was equally bitter, with a 
good deal more material to support it. This was be- 
fore the formation of the Whig party proper, and we 
who opposed Jackson were merely called an ti- Jack- 
son men. The basis of this organization was the com- 
bination of the supporters of Adams and Clay in 
1827. We were abused as a " coalition " formed to 
keep office, while the people, it was said, were for. 
Jackson. Before this, Charles Hammond had come 
to Cincinnati, from Belmont county, where he had 
practiced law, and was a strong friend of Clay. This 
reminds me of the first time I saw Hammond, and the 
disgust I had for his manners, although in fact no 
man could be better behaved than Hammond. lie 
was sitting on a dry -goods box, at the corner of Main 
and Third streets. A young man was sitting beside 
with his arm around Hammond's neck — cheek-by - 
jowl. To see a young man thus treating a compara- 
tively old man of high standing was a scene to which 
I was utterly unaccustomed, and was contrary to all 
my ideas of good breeding. This was not the only 
case, hy any means, in which I found that the venera- 
tion for age and station, which was taught in New Eng- 
land, was not felt in the West. The young man who 
was thus hugging Hammond was William II. Harrison, 
Jr., the eldest son of Gen. Harrison, who soon after 
died. 

Hammond, as I have said, had come to Cincinnati 
politically the friend of Clay. In point of law, infer- 



Personal Memories. 231 



notation, and skill in writing, lie was the superior of 
Clay. He and a few Adams men devised a monthly 
publication against Jackson, called "Truth's Advo- 
cate," and it was terribly severe on Jackson, chiefly 
because it was truth that it stated and proved. But 
of what value is truth when opposed to human pas- 
sions? The impression left upon me is that in politics 
men neither want to hear truth nor care for it when 
it is told. In this case it may be said that the force 
of - Truth's Advocate" was broken by an apparent 
attack on Mrs. Jackson, which reacted. But in fact 
it was not an attack on Mrs. Jackson, but on Jack- 
son's marriage with her. The facts were these: Mrs. 
Jackson, when young, was married to a man in East 
Tennessee, who used her ill. At that time Jackson 
became acquainted with her. Soon after she com- 
menced a suit for divorce from her husband. The 
country was very thinly settled. The courts sat at 
great distances from the parties. It was known that 
the divorce suit was commenced, and it was confi- 
dently reported the decree of divorce had been 
granted. On that, Jackson was married to the di- 
vorced lady. It turned out that the decree had been 
delayed, and that at the time of the marriage. Mrs. 
Jackson had not been legally divorced. The marriage 
was innocent in intention, but illegal in fact. The 
decree of divorce was made a few days after. This 
transaction was set forth in Truth's Advocate, not cer- 
tainly to injure Mrs. Jackson, but to show the char- 
acter of Jackson, as regardless of law, when inter- 
fering with his purpose. Mrs. Jackson was always 
esteemed a kind, Christian woman, and at her death 
Jackson lamented her with deep grief. 



232 Personal Mammies. 



Another transaction, described accurately in Truth's 
Advocate, was Jackson's connection with Burr. It 
was known that Burr had boats built on the Cumber- 
land for his expedition, and that Burr visited Jackson 
at Nashville, and that Jackson had something to do 
with the boats. But it was not proved that Jackson 
knew anything of the object of the boats beyond an 
emigration to Western Louisiana ; nor has it ever been 
proved that Burr's expedition had anything more 
treasonable in it than afterward took place in the 
emigration to Texas and the seizure of a Mexican 
territory. It is true, however, that those who knew 
Burr in the "West, believed the object was the separa- 
tion of the Western States from the Union. It is one 
of the mysteries of history that Burr should be able 
to organize a great expedition; should have talked to 
hundreds, if not thousands of people on the subject; 
should have enlisted able, public men in its favor, and 
yet that it should never be revealed what was the 
man's object. Nothing can better illustrate the artful- 
ness of Burr's character. No man of his times has 
been more talked about than Aaron Burr. No man 
has had more enemies, or left the world in much 
worse odor. And yet Burr had come of a very re- 
ligious, Christian family; was a man of shining tal- 
ents; had served reputably in the war of the Revolu- 
tion ; had been in the family of Washington ; was an 
able lawyer, and among his last public performances 
presided over the Senate with great dignity. The 
licentiousness which was so strongly charged upon 
him, was shared with many officers of the Revolu- 
tionary army. In fine, up to his duel with Hamilton, 
his career seems to have been approved by the public, 



Personal Memories. 233 



and his vices covered with the mantle of admiration 
for his ability. Here we come to another historical 
enigma. Why should his duel be charged upon him 
as so much greater crime and disgrace than upon 
Hamilton? As a duel, it was shared equally between 
them. If Burr was known to be vicious, Hamilton 
was by no means spotless. But if we were to judge 
by the splendid sermon of Dr. Nott in his eulogy, we 
should think the world had lost an unequaled apostle 
of virtue. Hamilton was, in the common phase of the 
world, a great man, and compared with Burr, was an 
example of honor and morality. But the main cause 
of the public judgment in this case was political and 
social. Hamilton had married Miss Schuyler, asso- 
ciated with the best and proudest aristocracy of New 
York. He was the friend and associate of Washing- 
ton. He was really great in his management of the 
treasury department, and more than that, he was the 
bright, particular star of the Federal party, its apostle 
and leader. He had quarreled with John Adams, 
and if anyone wants to see an account of Hamilton 
quite different from Dr. Nott's, he need only read a 
letter from Adams to Jefferson, contained in the life 
and correspondence of Adams. In that, he says, 
among other things, that it is only necessary in the 
future to have two such adventurers as Hamilton and 
Burr, with their talents and ambition, to rise at the 
head of factions, in order to destroy the government 
and Union. How near this came to be fulfilled in the 
war of the Rebellion, is well known. Adams hated 
Hamilton, and Jefferson hated both Hamilton and 
Burr. When the snows of eighty years had passed 



234 Personal Memories. 



over their heads, their memories were yet heated with 
the tires of political rivalry. 

But I must return from this episode to my subject. 
Burr did visit Jackson on the Cumberland, and, in 
some respects, they were not unlike, but, in all that 
regards patriotism and profound interest in his country 
and countrymen, Jackson was far the superior, and 
also in that broader view of policy which discarded 
all artifice, and openly and boldly pursues its objects. 
It is reported that Burr afterward said that he had 
found in Jackson, on the Cumberland, a man who was 
fit to be a leader and commander. 

Truth" s Advocate published all that was known of 
Jackson and Burr in this boat-building business, but 
there was nothing in the affair which really indicated 
any want of patriotism or duty on the part of Jack- 
son. These, and many other matters were published 
in Truth: 's Advocate, but whether it did more good or 
harm is doubtful. The world does not seem very anx- 
ious to learn truth, and still less to be judged by it. 
It may, however, be safely said that the publication 
of truth, in regard to Jackson, greatly diminished the 
popularity with which he came into office, and his ar- 
bitrary acts in office made it impossible for his suc- 
cessor (Van Buren) to be either popular or successful. 

The canvass of 1828 was, as I said, conducted with 
great personal bitterness, but far more honestly than 
elections are now, and with far more truth in the 
statements made. It is true that the charges against 
Mr. Clay, of "bargain, intrigue, and management," 
had no just grounds, and that the illegality of Jack- 
son's marriage made no moral crime, but, after all, 
there were no charges made which had not some ap- 



Personal Memories. 235 

pearance of fact, and there was no attempt to corrupt 
the public mind, or to make the offices of the country 
the spoils of party. That was reserved for the second 
administration of Jackson, when the corrupt New 
York politicians, of the Tammany class, had got his 
ear and confidence, through what was called the 
" Kitchen Cabinet." The scenes which then occurred 
are the most remarkable in our history, and, in some 
respects, the worst. Private scandal and public cor- 
ruption then began that influence in public affairs 
which have pervaded politics ever since. 

Apparently Mr. Adams was defeated by a very large 
majority of the electoral vote, but really the majority was 
comparatively small. Jackson had received a popu- 
lar majority over Adams, in 1824, of 50,000, in a vote 
of 350,000. In 1828 he received a majority of 138,000, 
in a vote of 1,156,000, not so large, in proportion, as 
before. In 1824, five states chose electors by the legis- 
latures. Anyone can see, bj T examining the votes of 
1828, how little the strength of parties has changed 
since. The truth is, that politics, like religion, de- 
scend from father to son, with little variation. In two 
hundred years of English history, we see only alter- 
nation between the great Whig and Tory parties. 



236 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Nullification — Calhoun: 's Theory — Hamilton' 's Speech — 
South Carolina Volunteers — Curious Incidents in South 
Carolina — Webster's Speech — Jackson's Position — The 
Proclamation — The Tariff- — The Corn-promise — Failure 
of Oratory — Success of the Re public. 

The presidential election of 1828 was scarcely over, 
when there arose another controversy of wider and 
deeper significance. In 1828, was passed a new tariff 
act, which adopted and enforced the principle of pro- 
tection to certain interests, especially with a view to 
encourage and support American manufactures. Wool 
and woolens were particularly protected. This act 
gave great offense to the cotton states, which now 
adopted, under the lead of Mr. Calhoun, the doctrine 
that to diminish the imports was to diminish the ex- 
ports, and, consequently, to diminish the value of the 
cotton crops. They claimed to raise the cheapest and 
best cotton in the world, and yet asserted that they 
could not export it in proportion if we did not import 
freely. I do not argue this point. It was quite plausi- 
ble. But I wish to recall some of the consequences. 
The tariff, of 1824, was pretty high, and the tariff of 
1828 higher. Then the orators of South Carolina came 
forth to proclaim the ruin and destruction which must 
follow in the South. General James Hamilton, a 
most eloquent man, proclaimed in public meetings the 
ruin, devastation, and foreshadowed doom which at- 



Personal Memories. 237 



tended this terrible tariff, in South Carolina. Accord- 
ing to him the homes were desolate, the beautiful vil- 
las and gardens of the planters were going into ruin. 
Whether true or not, this alarming picture startled 
the imagination of the people. The politicians fanned 
the flame, and loudly asked, what is the remedy? It 
was then that the genius of Mr. Calhoun formed a 
theory to suit the case. lie said that the constitution 
was made by the states, not the people. It was a com- 
pact, to which the states were the only parties, and 
that, therefore, they were the only judges of whether 
there had been an infraction of the constitution, and 
if there had' been, so the state could interpose its 
powers and authority to arrest the supposed uncon- 
stitutional laws of the general government. This 
is what was popularly known and correctly defined 
as nullification — a practical nullification of the na- 
tional government. Had it been possible to have car- 
ried this theory into effect, there would be no national 
government at this time. •'The most singular idea of 
Calhoun, and it is still stranger that it prevailed in 
the beginning of secession, was that this proceeding, 
by which the authority of the national government 
was to be overthrown, would be a peaceable measure! 
How could it be peaceable, if there were any people, 
even a minority, who were willing and able to support 
their government? It is probable that this very idea 
of a peaceful nullification, or secession, had -great in- 
fluence in favoring secession until the war actually 
came on. But the people of South Carolina, in 1828- 
| 1832, when there was great excitement on the subject, 
did not quite believe the doctrine of peace when re- 
bellion was attempted. So, when they found the gov- 



238 Personal Memories. 

ernment would collect its revenue, through its officers, 
unless some resistance was made, the legislature of 
South Carolina passed an act to raise a body of 12,000 
volunteers, armed and equipped. Here came in a part 
of unwritten history, which I knew myself, and al- 
ways seemed to me supremely ridiculous. The milli- 
ners were foaming with rage, especially against Ameri- 
can manufactures and ship owners, who, according to 
their theory, were defrauding the cotton-growers, by 
a tax on imports. They declared they would bay no 
American cloths or goods, but would go to England 
for everything. When, however, they must clothe the 
12,000 volunteers, they determined to have the best. 
So they made a contract for blue uniforms and brass 
buttons. It happened that I was then traveling in 
New England, and, among other places, stopped at 
AVaterbury, Connecticut, where my friend, Mr. Sco- 
ville, had then just began one of that scries of facto- 
ries which have made Waterbury a city. It was a 
button factory, and he showed me the works and the 
very ingenious machinery employed. Then, taking 
down some packages #f finished brass buttons, very 
fine of their kind, he, with a laugh on his face, showed 
me the very buttons which were to be used by the 
volunteers of South Carolina. To me nothing could 
seem more ridiculous. There were the emblems of 
South Carolina, with its motto — Nemo me impune laccs- 
sit — on buttons made in Connecticut, to uniform the 
troops with which that little state was to defy the gov- 
ernment, and boast that it would use no Yankee manu- 
factures ! In the many years which elapsed from nulli- 
fication to the war of the Rebellion, many things of 
this kind occurred. The Southern people seem to 



Personal Memories. 239 



have bceu really unconscious how largely they were 
dependent on others, not indeed for the bare necessa- 
ries of life, but for nearly all that made life com- 
fortable. 

The debate, the excitement, the threatening*, and 
the fears on the subject of nullification continued 
three years— indeed through all the first administra- 
tion of Jackson. In the meanwhile there were several 
memorable occurrences. 

I have mentioned the picture of desolation in South 
Carolina (attributed to tariff) drawn by Major James 
Hamilton, who had been a member of congress. It 
was really eloquent and beautiful, but terminated with 
the idea which afterward culminated in secession and 
rebellion. Speaking at Walterborough, South Caro- 
lina, he said : 

" Where are now those beautiful homesteads and 
venerable chateaus which once adorned the land of our 
fathers, the abodes of hospitality and wealth, from 
which the most generous benefactions were dispensed 
to contented labor — by which slavery itself lost half 
the burden of its chains, in the kindness with which 
they were imposed? Gone; fallen into irreversible 
decay. On the very hearthstone where hospitality 
kindled the most genial fires that ever blazed on her 
altars, the fox may lay down in security and peace; 
and from the casement of the very window from which 
the notes of virtuous revelry were once heard, the owl 
sends forth to the listening solitude of the surround- 
ing waste her melancholy descant, to mark the spot 
where desolation has come." 

Was this picture true, or was it only fiction? I 
suspect the orator, like the Fourth of July orator, had 



240 Personal Memories. 



something to go on, but colored it with the visions of 
fancy. 

Such were the strains by which South Carolina was 
called to believe herself deeply injured, her feelings 
outraged, and her rights violated. " But how," says 
the orator, " are we to interfere for the purpose of ar- 
resting the progress of the evil ?" To this he replies : 
" A nullification, then, of the unauthorized act is the 
rightful remedy." 

This doctrine was professedly founded on the Vir- 
ginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1798, and it was 
defended as a peaceful measure. Those resolutions 
of 1798 were generally embodied in the proceedings 
of Democratic conventions, from 1828 to 1840. They 
were a part of the regular stock-in-trade of the party. 
How they came to be so, since they were never 
adopted but by two states, is a political enigma. The 
truth is, however, that all the original leaders of the 
Kepublicau,* as it was first called, and afterward the 
Democratic, party, were Anti-Constitutionalists; op- 
posed to the adoption of the constitution, fearing that 
it might lead to the foundation of a national or su- 
preme government, in opposition to the rights of the 
states. There is no doubt the founders of the consti- 
tution intended it to be a national government ; and 
no doubt it has become so in fact. But to this the 
Anti-Federalists were opposed, and so, for half a cen- 
tury, they continued to indoctrinate the Democratic 
party with them, and to infuse them, as far as possible, 
into the Democratic conventions. In the meanwhile, 
however, there was a counteracting force, which ulti- 

* See Proceedings of Democratic Caucuses in 1808, 1812, 1810, 
and 1824. 



Personal Memories. 241 



mately proved politically omnipotent. This was no- 
thing more or less than the patriotic/ee^??^ of the people. 
Men profess to be governed by reason ; in fact, they are 
governed by feeling and interest. This feeling of 
nationality grew up at first under the insults and in- 
juries of European powers. France brushed with us 
in 1798; the British fired upon the Chesapeake in 
1809 ; Napoleon confiscated our ships in the port of 
Antwerp, under the Berlin and Milan decrees; the 
British seized our ships, under orders in council — they 
impressed our seamen in our own ships, with a sub- 
lime indifference to our rights and feelings, which in 
these days would seem incredible and impossible. 
The war of 1812-1815 began with the celebrated 
motto, " Free Trade and Sailors' Rights," and ended 
with that famous battle of New Orleans, which Coun- 
selor Sampson, not inaptly, called "the death-bed of 
British glory." It was certainly the death-bed of 
British pretension toward us. In the meanwhile, 
English travelers, reviewers, and writers were abusing 
and sneering at the American people. Some time 
after this, Robert Walsh wrote his " Appeal." At 
this time it is difficult for an American to realize this 
state of things, and the opposition and contumely, 
and even humiliation, under which this country grew 
up into a real and solid nationality. It was in this 
way nationality was cultivated, and the people began 
to feel there Avas a nationality, long before the gentle- 
men who were asserting state rights realized that 
fact. Against such a feeling all the arguments and 
casuistry of political philosophers are in vain. The 
resolutions of 1798 are no longer heard of. The war 
of the Rebellion buried them. Thirty-eight states and 



242 Personal Memories. 



A 



fifty millions of people can not be controlled by an 
abstract philosophy, or paper resolutions. The gov- 
ernment is, and must henceforth remain, what the 
practical necessities of the country make it. 

But let us return to nullification. At the same 
time that Hamilton was rousing South Carolina with 
fiery speeches, public meetings, both in Carolina and 
Georgia, were passing contra-resolutions against the 
supposed offenders. Kentucky and Ohio were strong 
tariff states, under the lead of Henry Clay. In 
Laurens and Edgefield counties, South Carolina, and 
in Baldwin and Montgomery counties, Georgia, it was 
resolved not to consume or buy the hogs, cattle, mules, 
bacon, etc., of the Western States.* "When the legis- 
lature of South Carolina met, in December, this feel- 
ing was strongly developed. Preston, Thompson, 
Holmes, and other members offered resolutions, the 
substance of which was that the tariff acts were pal- 
pable and dangerous infractions of the constitution, 
and that the state had a right to interpose and arrest 
them. How a tariff act, which is passed under the 
most direct and explicit power conferred by the con- 
stitution! on congress, can possibly be an infraction 
of the constitution was not explained then, and has 
never been explained since. Among the proceedings 
of the legislature of South Carolina was an act re- 
quiring citizens of South Carolina to take a test oath 
of exclusive allegiance to the state.J This test oath 
was the very essence of rebellion, although en- 
acted thirty-two years before actual rebellion begun. 

* See Niles' Register, 63. 

f Constitution, article 1, section 8. 

J South Carolina Ordinance, November, 1832. 



Personal Memories. 243 

The Court, of Appeals hi South Carolina, to their 
honor be it said, with great personal disinterestedness 
and moral independence declared the ordinance of the 
state on this point unconstitutional.* 

In the meantime, James Madison, ex-president of 
the United States, had written two "letters,, published 
by a friend, declaring the tariff constitutional. These 
had a sedative effect, and the public mind was soon 
after turned to another subject. Practical nullifica- 
tion was not attempted until four years after. Let 
us, however, follow it to the end. 

Ln May, 1882, congress again revised the tariff, 
not for the purpose of increasing duties, but that of 
remodifying them and rendering them more agreea- 
ble to the Southern States. That this was a fact was 
declared by Col. Drayton in an address to the people 
of South Carolina exhorting them to sustain the 
Union. f The very fact that such exhortation was 
made, and that nullification of the laws of the United 
States was considered a just and constitutional rem- 
edy for supposed evils is positive proof that the seeds 
of the Rebellion of 1831 were sown and alive twenty- 
eight years before. The modification of the tariff 
proved unsatisfactory. The excitement was again re- 
newed. The imaginations of the people were inflamed 
with the idea that they were imposed upon by the ma- 
jority in the Union. Inflammatory toasts were drunk, 
and the most distinguished public men supported 
measures, the sole object of which was to resist the 
laws of the Union. 

Mr. John C. Calhoun, in a letter, dated "Fort Hill, 

* Decisions of South Carolina Court of Appeals. 
f45 Niles' Register. 



244 Personal Memories. 




30th of July, 1832," declared that nullification was a 
peaceful remedy, and necessary to the preservation of 
others.* He said, that he had entire confidence that 
the time would come when this principle would be re- 
garded as "the great conservative principle of our 
admirable system of government," and those who 
maintain it among "the great benefactors of the 
country." If Mr. Calhoun believed this, the history 
of the next thirty years proves him to have been 
among the most deluded and mistaken of men. It 
- is true, that a casuist may say, that nullification and 
secession were not the same. But they both had the 
same root. If a state nullified or resisted the laws of 
the United States, then the revenue could not be col- 
lected without force ; and, if a state seceded, then the 
revenue could not be collected without force. It came 
practically, and, in the view of common sense, to the 
same thing. It was resistance to the supreme laws of 
the Union, which could only end in a final conflict. 
The doctrines of Calhoun, McDuffie, Major Hamilton, 
and others were not destined, however, to be accepted 
even in the South, without a stern opposition. Judge 
Smith, who had been United States Senator, in an ad- 
dress to the people of Spartanburg (S. C.),thus wrote: 
" To say that you can resist the general government 
and remain in the Union at peace is a perfect delusion, 
calculated only to hoodwink an honest community, 
until they shall have advanced too far to retrace their 
steps, which they must do, and do with disgrace and 
humiliation, or enter upon a bloody conflict with the 
general government. The general government can 

*43 Niles' Register, 56. 



Personal Memories. 245 



not bow its sovereignty to the mandates of South 
Carolina while the Union is worth preserving"."* Was 
there ever prophecy more perfectly fulfilled ? The 
delusion continued, the people of the South were 
hoodwinked, the government was resisted, the bloody 
conflict came on, and the South ended it in disgrace 
and humiliation. But all this did not happen just 
then. The usual debates, controversies, and compro- 
mises took place through nearly thirty years, in which 
nothing was settled, and nothing could be settled 
while it was considered debatable whether the national 
government was supreme. 

This was the state of things, when in October, 1832, 
the legislature of South Carolina passed an act "call- 
ing a convention of the people " of the state. The 
convention elected under this act assembled at Col- 
umbia, the 19th of November, 1832, and there passed 
an act for nullifyingf certain acts of Congress, called the 
tariff acts. It is unnecessary to say more of the ordi- 
nance, than that it pronounced the tariff acts of 1828 
and 1832, " null and void," and not binding upon the 
state, its officers, or citizens; that it was unlawful for 
any constituted authorities to enforce payment of said 
duties ; that if the general government should em- 
ploy force to carry into effect its laws, or attempt to 
coerce the state by shutting up its ports, that South 
Carolina would consider the union dissolved. This 
was a frank, open resistance to the laws of the Union. 
But it met with no help or great sympathy from 
the other anti-tariff states. Governor Gayle, of Ala- 
bama, condemned nullification. The legislature of 

*43 Niles' Register, 219. 
|43 Niles' Register, 219. 



246 Personal Memories. 



Tennessee passed resolutions unanimously condemning 
it. The legislature of Georgia, a strong anti-tariff 
state, also condemned it. Nevertheless, South Caro- 
lina persevered; called out a great number of volun- 
teers, and the whole state was a great camp, tilled with 
fire and fury. 

Such was the state of things when, on the 10th of 
December, 1832, General Jackson issued his now fa- 
mous proclamation, one of the ablest and most im- 
portant documents in our history. Its composition 
was attributed, and, no doubt correctly, to Edward 
Livingstone, then secretary of state. The sentiments 
were, doubtless, those of Jackson. It was filled with that 
love of union which, in all times and circumstances, 
has been a leading element of the American char- 
acter, and it was received almost universally with ap- 
proval and applause. One paragraph only is necessary 
to show the constitutional ground taken : 

"I consider then," says the President, " the power 
to annul a law of the United States, assumed by one 
state, incompatible with the existence of the Union; 
contradicted expressly by the letter of the constitu- 
tion; unauthorized by its spirit; inconsistent with 
every principle on which it was founded, and de- 
structive of the great object for which it. was formed. 

"ISTo act of violent opposition to the laws has yet 
been committed, but such a state of things is hourly 
apprehended, and it is the intent of this instrument to 
proclaim, not only the duty imposed on me by the 
constitution, 'to take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed,' shall be performed to the extent of the 
powers already vested in me by law, or such other as 
the wisdom of congress shall devise and intrust to me 



Personal Memories. 247 



for that purpose; but, to warn the citizens of South 
Carolina, who have been deluded into an opposition 
to the laws, of the danger they will incur by obedience 
to the illegal and disorganizing ordinance of the con- 
vention." 

This proclamation had a most extraordinary effect 
on the public mind. That which was wanting 1 in 1800 
was present in 1832 — the manifest determination of 
the government to put forth all its power to suppress 
insurrection and punish traitors. Jackson was a man 
of iron will, of keen iulellect, and burning patriotism, 
whom no sophistries could deceive and no demagogues 
could intimidate. The heart of the nation responded 
to liim. Happily the war of the Rebellion was put 
oft" for thirty years, when it could be more decisive, 
and vindicate the justice of Providence more clearly 
4o the intelligence of mankind. 

In connection with this proclamation must be taken 
another document, not less striking or effective. This 
was the speech of Daniel Webster, delivered in the 
senate, January, 18-30, on the doctrine of nullification. 

In the discussion on Foote's resolutions, Colonel 
Hayne, of South Carolina, advanced the whole 
doctrine of nullification, as created (I may say) 
by John C. Calhoun, and held by South Caro- 
lina. The reply of Daniel Webster, on the 26th 
and 27th of January, 1830, w T as the most celebrated 
speech ever delivered in congress, and more than equal 
to the great speeches of Chatham and Burke. Of 
course the subject of constitutional law and political 
theories did not admit the fiery eloquence of Chatham 
or the splendid diction of Burke, but it was far supe- 
rior to them in the closeness of logic, the dignity of 



248 Personal Memories. 

the subject, and the imposing strength with which he 
carried a nation with him. The precise meaning and 
power of that speech was not so apparent then, even 
with all its popular success, as it was in the war of the 
Rebellion. The young men who were then coming 
upon the stage of action, got their idea of constitu- 
tional law from Webster, and they were just of the 
asre to become the actors and leaders when secession 
began. The attempt at nullification and the argument 
of Webster, kindled thousands of minds into the ar- 
dor of patriotism and the study of constitutional law. 
I was one of them, and my little work, the "Political 
Grammar,"* published in 1834, was one of the conse- 
quences. It was one of the few things which have 
satisfied me that I had not lived wholly in vain. 

When Webster's speech was delivered, I was cross- 
ing the mountains (as the phrase then was), on the 
death of my father at New Haven (Conn.), and I re- 
ceived the speech in the National Intelligencer, I think, 
at Somerset (Penn.), and I was completely startled 
and surprised. It seemed to me to embody all that 
grand idea of the American Republic, with its glory 
and strength surviving, as I believed, and do believe 
it will do until the sunset of history; giving to the 
nations light, freedom, and righteousness. No speech 
before or since, has produced such an effect on me. I 
asked my friend, Judge Burnet, then senator from 
Ohio, how it was delivered and with what effect on 
the senate ; for, when I heard Webster he was rather 
a cold speaker. Judge Burnet said, it was delivered 
with a warmth and energy worthy of the subject, and 

* Published by the Harpers, in iSut, and still in circulation. 



Personal Memories. 249 



the effect was most striking. Such a speech had al- 
ready prepared the public mind for the proclamation 
of 1882. Both have gone to the world and remain 
to-day among the greater documents in political his- 
tory ; and of them, their authors might have said with 
Horace and with Tacitus, that they would survive to 
other ages, when brass and stone had decayed. 

Here let me remark on the decline of American 
oratory. At least, that decline seems very evident 
to me, and the causes equally evident. We hear to- 
day of immense audiences gathered to hear Moody 
and Beecher, John Hall, and many others ; but tak- 
ing the evidence of what they said, and how they ap- 
pear in print, would any one compare them with 
Dwight, and Mason, and Xott ? The actors, it is said, 
went to hear Dr. Mason preach in order to learn his 
gestures. The sermon of Dr. Xott on the death of 
Hamilton has never been equaled by any of the 
Beechers, Halls, or McCloskys of the day, and I could 
pick out twenty of Dwight's sermons which are not 
equaled by any of the popular preachers of the pres- 
ent time. We need not cite Whitfield, for he was a 
prodigy. It is exactly the same thing with political 
oratory. What man in public life of any sort equals 
Webster or Clay ? You will say Corwin, but Corwin 
is not of this generation. He is dead. Besides he 
never did rise to the level of Webster and Clay. But 
justice to him requires me to say that his oratory was 
peculiar; it was his own; not borrowed from either 
ancient or modern school. It is beyond all doubt or 
question that we have no orators of this day equal to 
those of the last generation. But the question arises, 
why? This is a boasting generation; why should 



250 Personal Memories. 

there not be orators as well as machinists, telegraphs, 
or railroads ? The answer is very simple and the rea- 
son plain, though not a sufficient one to account for a 
lack of ambition on the part of men to win the fame 
of an orator. 

The reason is this, that a public speaker now is not 
ambitious of fame from posterity, but how he shall 
appear before, his present and temporary audience. 
The facts and the reasoning are made plain to the 
voters, but the oratory is wanting. lie is talking for 
the newspapers. It may not be a mistake, but it is a 
fact. The newspaper has killed the great orator. How 
killed him? Because, he is anxious to appear in the 
newspaper and be popular before the people, and what 
is required to make a man popular in the newspaper 
is a very different thing from what is required for a 
. great orator. What do the ordinary readers of news- 
papers care for classic language, splendid iigures, pro- 
found learning, or deep sentiment? Nothing. Hence, 
the pulpit orator and the political orator, perceiving 
this, fall, at once, into that colloquialism which is the . 
ruin of all oratory, of all eloquence, and of all future 
fame. But worse than this, when he who should have 
been the great orator of the pulpit, the bar, or the 
senate comes into the newspapers, he is beaten by the 
newspaper writer. lie thinks he is telling the world 
a good deal in most splendid language, but finds that 
the newspaper writer is ahead of him. The public writer 
of the newspaper is a well-informed man, who knows 
the people well, and who knows how to speak to the 
people in old English — the Anglo-Saxon tongue. Now, 
what is the result? The orator of the pulpit and thesen- 
ate, after sacrificing all true oratory, the classical and 



Personal Memories. 251 



i the poetic, the fervent and the grand, for the sake of 

^newspaper notoriety, finds that it is not he, but his 

newspaper friend, who appears before the public as the 

great man of the occasion ! But let us return to the 

/thread of history. The speech of Webster and the 
proclamation of Jackson silenced the conspirators. 
South Carolina was a camp, and the beautiful uniform 
of the volunteers shone with the buttons made by Mr. 
Scoville, at Waterbury, Connecticut. In this condition 
of affairs, congress passed what was called the " force 
bill," the meaning and object of which was to enforce 
the collection of and the execution of the laws in any 
state or states attempting to nullify the laws of the 
United States. At this time of great emergency, to 
save the nullifiers, if possible, from the effects of their 
wild and insane proceedings, Mr. Clay proposed his 
compromise bill — a compromise which caused the loss 
of fortunes to thousands of persons, and which ulti- 
mately threw the country into the worst commercial 
convulsion it has ever known, and did not abate one 
whit the causes of that political antagonism which 
existed and must exist between slavery and freedom, 
and which at last Providence settled by the war of se- 
cession. Mr. Clay was not at that time on speaking 
terms with Mr. Calhoun, but his friends proposed the 
plan to the latter, and it was accepted. The plan was 
that the tariff should be reduced a certain per cent. 
each year until it fell to twenty per cent. This com- 
promise was adopted. South Carolina suspended her 
aggressive operations, and the country returned to an 
apparent peace — apparent only. II ow delusive, how 
uncertain, and how utterly inefficient, we shall see 
wdien we examine the subsequent debates on the right 



252 Personal Memories. 

of petition, the after compromise of 1850, and the se- 
cession war of 1861. Why were the people of that 
day so deluded ? In fact, they were not. The real 
statesmen of that day knew well that the political vol- 
cano might hurst forth at any moment. 

In another chapter* I have noticed the Missouri ques- 
tion, the compromise of 1820. From that time on for 
forty years, statesmen of all parties were engaged in 
constant, cautious, fearful attempts to compromise the 
great crime of the country. They were trying to use 
the language of an exorcist, " to lay the ghost ! " But 
the ghost was impracticable. There was no human 
power capable of laying it. 

The more the southern slave states grew in numbers, 
in cotton products, in wealth and political influence, the 
more they felt the necessity — an honest necessity — of 
protecting slavery and extending its domain ; the more 
grew the necessity of the non-slave states, the more 
the church Avas excited to inquire into it, and the more 
northern demagogues found a fruitful field in which to 
play upon the passions and the prejudices of the 
people. 

The conflict was inevitable. We see it now ; but 
thinking people saw it long years before it came to 
pass. In 1828, however, the disease was not called by 
its right name. As we have seen, they called it the 
wrong of the tariff; but behind the tariff lay cotton, 
and behind cotton lay slavery. We shall see later how 
it at last took its proper name. I have here traced 
one chapter in the history of political slavery, and have 
done it not so much for the curious interest of the 
reader as to put on record what I know to be — brief 

* Chapter VI. 



Personal Memories. 253 

as it is — au accurate view of one of the most interest- 
ing periods of the social progress and political revolu- 
tions through which our country passed. The time 
was four years, but it was a complete microcosm of 
what followed in the war of secession.' 

I may remark here that I know of no more signal 
example of the interposition, wisdom, and mercy of 
the divine Providence than that by which the rebellion 
was averted in 1832, and by which it was brought on 
and conquered in 186L If there had been actual re- 
bellion in 1832, it would have been called a tariff war. 
South Carolina, or any state which joined her, would 
have been easily conquered, but slavery would have 
remained untouched, and the South would still have 
believed itself the dominant power. Thirty years aft- 
erward, however, the real cause was slavery, and the 
whole power of the South was arrayed in its defense, 
and slavery and secession were both destroyed. God 
justified His ways to men. The great republic, after 
one hundred years of struggle, stands literally regen- 
erated and disenthralled. Storms and darkness have 
fled from her horizon, and nothing but the wrath of 
God upon disobedience can ever again cross her splen- 
did career. 



254 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The Cholera — Its Advent, Progress, and Mortality — Dr. 
Drake's Literary Parties — General King — Mrs. King 
(Mrs. Peters) — Catharine Beecher — Harriet Beecher 
(31rs. 8/ owe) — Professor Stowe — Judge Hcdl — Mrs. 
Caroline Tlentze — College of Teachers — Albert Pickett 
— Joshua Wilson — Alexander Kinmont — James Per- 
kins — Dr. Beecher — Alexander Campbell — Thomas L. 
Grimke. 

In 1832 the Asiatic cholera visited the United States. 
No great epidemic or general disease has before or 
since prevailed in North America. The yellow fever 
had appeared locally in 'New York, Philadelphia, and 
Charleston. In 1699* the yellow fever appeared in 
Philadelphia, and swept off a great number of people. 
In 1728 it broke out in Charleston, and swept off many 
inhabitants. The planters would suffer no persons to 
carry supplies into the town, and the numbers of the 
sick were so great that white persons were scarcely to 
be found sufficient to bury the dead. The yellow fever 
again appeared in New York and Philadelphia in 
179:5, 1797, 1798, and 1823. These visitations were, 
however, local, and did not extend to other places. 
In 1832 the Asiatic cholera became general through- 
out the United States, and for this reason, and because 
I was present where it prevailed in every season, it 
may be interesting to give some of the leading facts 

* Holmes' Annals. 



Personal Memories. 255 



of those times. The cholera arrived at Quebec in an 
emigrant ship, and immediately proceeded by the 
Champlain canal and Hudson river to New York city. 
On the Other hand, it ascended the St. Lawrence, en- 
tered the basin of the lakes, and swept around the 
upper Mississippi, whence it entered the valley of the 
Ohio. From Bufialo it was carried by Scott's troops, 
then on their way to engage in the Black Hawk war, 
to other places. Among these troops, it broke out on 
the bosom of the lakes, and, by the time they reached 
Chicago, they had already been decimated by death, 
and a large number of those left were immediately 
consigned to hospitals. General Scott, his staff, and 
about two hundred and twenty men, embarked in the 
steamboat Sheldon Thompson, in which, on the 8th 
of July, the cholera broke out. The boat arrived on 
the 10th inst. at Chicago. In these two or three days, 
out of two hundred men, one officer and fiftv-one men 
died, and eighty were left sick at Chicago. The fate 
of those in the other boats was even worse than that 
of those on the Sheldon. On landing the troops, many 
of the soldiers deserted, and their fate was terrible. 
Mr. JSTorvell, of Detroit, wrote to the Philadelphia 
Enquirer: "Of the deserters scattered all over the 
country, some have died in the woods, and others have 
been devoured by the wolves. Their straggling sur- 
vivors are occasionally seen marching, some of them 
know not whither, with their knapsacks on their 
backs, shunned by the terrified inhabitants as the 
source of mortal pestilence." Such were the scenes 
and horrors which attended the cholera in its first 
progress through the northwest. At its first appear- 
ance from Quebec to New York, I was at West Point, 



25 G Personal Memories. 

on the Hudson. From Albany to New York, in the 
small villages, and especially at "West Point, it ap- 
peared only in the premonitory symptoms, and was not 
violent ; but in the city of New York it was violent 
and fatal. The newspapers published the cases and 
deaths daily, and they were looked for and read with 
the deepest interest. In New York, as in nearly all 
cities and towns, the disease appeared in low places 
and in neighborhoods where filth prevailed. The same 
fact was noted in the city of London, and a parlia- 
mentary inquiry showed that it appeared in the same 
localities with the typhoid fever. These localities were 
where there were filthy sewers, cess-pools, and drains ; 
but it is remarkable that neither in London nor in New 
York was this pestilence as fatal in proportion to their 
inhabitants as in many smaller places. It was also 
noted that no appearance of anything unusual in the 
weather or atmosphere was apparent. In the month 
of June, when the cholera descended the Hudson, the 
weather was most beautiful, the temperature mild, and 
the air calm. While this pestilence was terrifying hu- 
manity, nature remained the same. 

In the month of October, 1832, when the cholera 
had apparently left New York, I determined, after 
nearly four years' of absence, to return to Cincinnati, 
and resume my profession. AVe returned by way of 
Buffalo and Erie to Pittsburg. At Erie, Pennsylvania, 
we took the stage to Pittsburg, and at Pittsburg took 
a steamboat down the Ohio. When we arrived at 
Pittsburg, we were surprised to find that the Ohio 
river was covered with the cholera, almost every 
steamboat having it on board. It had arrived at Cin- 
cinnati about the 20th of September, but we had sup- 



Personal Memories. 257 

posed that by this time (October) it had abated, and 
we took a steamboat for Cincinnati. At Wheeling: 
we found boats with the cholera on board, but deter- 
mined to go on. On the way down, my wife had a 
Blight attack of cholera, but soon recovered. At Ma- 
rietta island, a singular incident occurred. We reached 
there about dark, and the captain dropped anchor, in- 
tending to remain for the night. Just then a steam- 
boat came up the river, and stopped at the island near 
our boat. On asking for the news, the captain said 
they had four or five cases of cholera on board, and 
were about to bury one of their dead on the island. 
This at once gave the alarm. Captain, crew, and pas- 
sengers of our boat were all excited ; ladies were using 
camphor bottles ; and the captain and crew appeared 
the most alarmed. The anchor was immediately lilted, 
steam started, and we went down the river. The fright 
soon subsided, and the next morning the sun rose 
bright and beautiful on one of the loveliest of October 
davs. Here I may again remark that never was the 
weather brighter or better than during the prevalence 
of the cholera. We proceeded on our journey, but 
many of the passengers, including myself, decided that 
it was dangerous and unwise to go to Cincinnati. My 
main motive for going there had ceased to exist, for I 
found by a letter at Wheeling that my mother, who 
had been left almost alone at Cincinnati, had left there 
and gone to Oxford. I decided, therefore, to land at 
Gallipolis, and go to Oxford. Among the ladies on 
our boat was Mrs. Jonathan Bates, who still survives 
almost the only one of that period who can remember 
and relate the facts I have here stated. She is now past 
eighty years of age, and has lived the nearly half ecu- 



258 Personal Memories. 

tury since, to be a most useful and respected mem- 
ber of society, honored in the church, and admired by 
her friends. She, myself, and others proceeded across 
the country by stage to Chillicothe. At Chillicothe, 
we took a carriage to Oxford. At Oxford I found my 
mother, aud remained a month in that pleasant vil- 
lage. Then and at several subsequent visits, I became 
interested in Miami University. In 1835, I delivered 
a literary address before the societies there. Here I 
may say that no western institution of the same means 
and age has done more for the cause of education, or 
sent forth more able and intelligent men, than Miami 
University. It is to be regretted that its means have 
been crippled b}' the early lease of its lands at a com- 
paratively nominal rate. There is now a prospect of 
its revival, with increased strength, and it is hoped 
tli at it will yet become one of the most valuable of our 
institutions. 

Our visit at Oxford passed pleasantly and speedily 
away, and about the first of December we returned to 
Cincinnati. A snow had fallen, the streets were icy, 
and the gaslights dimly burning, presenting to our 
imagination the ghostly appearance of the departed 
cholera. The city was then healthy, and remained so 
until the following May, when the cholera a^ain broke 
out among the Germans in the northern part of the 
city. It returned again in 1834, 1840, 1850, 1851, 
1852, and 1865 (or 1866). In one of these seasons 
(1849) it was far more severe than in 1832, and, in all 
times of its appearing, alarming. That I may not re- 
turn to this subject, I will here give a summary of 
some of its causes and effects. In September, 1840, 
the board of health in Cincinnati returned the follow- 



Personal Memories. 259 

ing number of deaths between the first of May and 

the first of September, four months : 

Deaths by Cholera, 4,114 

" " other Diseases, 2,345 

Aggregate, 6,4~>9 

If we add to this the number of deaths in the last 
two weeks in April, and from the first of September 
to the fit tee nth of October, during which the number 
of deaths exceeded the average, we shall have, for 
six months, at least 7,000, of which 4,600 were from 
cholera. The mortality of the other six months, at 
the average rate, was only 1,500. We have, then, for 
1849, a total mortality of 8,500, which (the popula- 
tion of the city being 110,000), made a ratio of one 
in fourteen. If we examine this mortality socially, we 
shall arrive at some extraordinary results. The divi- 
sion of the cemeteries of Cincinnati by nationalities 
and religions, is so complete, that we can easily deter- 
mine how many Americans and how many foreign 
born died of cholera. Taking the number given 
above, of those who died between the first of M;i}* 
and the first of September, we have this result : 

Germans, Irish, and Hebrews 2,806 

Americans, English, Scotch, and Welch, 1,218 

Total, 4,114 

The ascertained proportion of Germans, Irish, and 
Hebrews, at that time, was 40 per cent, of the whole 
population. The residue of the population (Ameri- 
cans, English, Welsh, etc.), was GO per cent. /Now, 
making the comparison, according to these propor- 
tions, we find that : 



2G0 Personal Memories. 

Died of Cholera — Germans and Irish 1 in 16 

Hebrews 1 in 64 

Americans, English, etc. 1 in 56 

the whole population, 1 in 29 



'< 



"We thus see that the deaths amonsr the German and 
Irish was within a fraction of beino- fourfold that of 
the Americans, and double those of the entire popu- 
lation, in proportion. Investigations like these, into 
the results of different modes and habits of life, 
would contribute something to the progress of social 
science, that science which will be of the greatest im- 
portance to the future. The causes of these results 
are probably various; but must, undoubtedly, bo 
found in the different conditions of the people and 
different modes of living. 

During the prevalence of this pestilence, a deep 
gloom and solemn fear pervaded the city. Many 
plans and suggestions were made to mitigate the dis- 
ease. The greatest mortality was in the hot month 
of July, yet great fires were made in some streets, 
with the idea of driving off the poison ; but the dis- 
ease went on with its fearful fatality, and the "long 
funerals blackened all the way." At this time my 
brother-in-law, Dr. Worthington, died at our house, 
not of cholera, but of typhus fever, taken from expo- 
sure and fatigue from attending upon his patients. 
In consequence of this, and the deep gloom which 
pervaded the city and ourselves, we went for a few 
weeks to Xenia. Arrived there, we found that the 
cholera had broken out at about the same time. Our 
friends were alarmed and excited, and exposed through 
the same scenes, only on a smaller scale, as those 
seen in Cincinnati. Thus, we had passed through 



Personal Memories. 261 

all the terrors unci afflictions of the year 1849, fatal to 
Cincinnati. It was one of the saddest and least profit- 
able years of ray life. I have described it here, for 
the purpose of exhibiting, briefly, what seems un- 
known to this generation — one of the greatest calam- 
ities that can afflict mankind. 

I will now return to the period in time when I left 
my personal narrative. January, 1833, found me in a 
small law-office, on Fourth street, near Main, Cincin- 
nati. I had determined to resume my profession at 
any rate, for the purpose of doing something, however 
little. It turned out to be little; but the attempt was 
most valuable to me, for it made the remainder of my 
life useful and honorable, if not remarkable. It was 
in this office I formed the idea of writing " The Politi- 
cal Grammar" a practical work on the constitution, 
much needed by young men, and which, for forty 
years, has been more or less in circulation. It is a 
brief compendium of the commentaries, legislation, 
and decisions of the supreme court in regard to the 
constitution. It was adapted to students, and lias been 
studied in many of the academies and institutions of 
the country. It was really not published until two 
years after it was planned. In the meanwhile, and 
connected with this idea, I acquired a bent toward 
literary pursuits, which have occupied my mind and 
attention from that day to this. Circumstances, 
which I will now relate, encouraged that taste, and 
completed my transfer from the life of a lawyer to 
that of a public writer. It was in that year, 1833, 
my friend and relative, Dr. Daniel Drake, instituted a 
social and literary reunion at his house, which, to those 
who f equcnted it, possessed all the charms of infer- 



2(32 Personal Memories. 

mation, wit, and kindness. These meetings were 
really formed for the benefit of his daughters, then 
just growing into womanhood. Those meetings are 
indelibly impressed upon my memory, and though 
others of similar character have been made memora- 
ble by literary fame, I am well persuaded that they 
were neither more instructive nor more pleasing than 
those of Dr. Drake, at his Vine-street home. The 
reunions were small enough to meet in the parlor, and 
the entertainment and instruction of a conversational 
character, so as to avoid the rigidity and awkwardness 
of a mere literary party. Thus, the conversation 
never degenerated into mere gossip, nor was it ever 
forced into an unpleasant or an unwilling gravity. 
We used to assemble early — about half past seven — 
and, when fully collected, the doctor, who was the 
acknowledged chairman, rang his little bell for general 
attention. This caused no constraint; but simply 
brought us to the topic of the evening. Sometimes 
this was appointed beforehand. Sometimes it arose 
out of what was said or proposed on the occasion. 
Some evenings essays were read on selected topics. 
On other evenings nothing was read, and the time was 
passed in the discussion of some interesting question. 
Occasionally a piece of poetiy or a story came in to 
relieve the conversation. These, however, Avere rather 
interludes than parts of the general plan, whose main 
object was the discussion of interesting questions be- 
longing to society, literature, and religions. The sub- 
jects were always of a suggestive and problematical 
kind ;* so that the ideas were fresh, the debates ani- 
mated, and the utterance of opinion frank and spon- 
taneous. There, in that little circle of ladies and ^\\- 



Personal Memories. 263 

tlemen, I have heard many of the questions which 
have since occupied the public mind, talked over with 
an ability and fullness of information which is seldom 
possessed by larger and more authoritative bodies. 
Nor were these meetings unimportant ; for nothing 
can be unimportant which directs minds — whose in- 
fluence spreads over a whole country — and such were 
these. I do not say what impressions they received; 
but I know that persons were assembled there, of such 
character and talent as seldom meet in one place, and 
who, going out into the world, have signalized their 
names in the annals of letters, science, and benevo- 
lence. 

Dr. Daniel Drake was himself the head of the circle, 
whose suggestive mind furnished topics for others, and 
was ever ready to revive a flagging conversation, lie 
was a man of real genius, whose mind was fresh, ac- 
tive, ambitious, and intellectually enterprising. He 
studied medicine with Dr. Goforth, the pioneer physi- 
cian of Cincinnati, and for thirty years was a leader 
in medical science and education. He founded the 
Medical College of Ohio, the Cincinnati Hospital, and 
was a professor in medical colleges, and a teacher, dur- 
ing the largest part of his active life. He closed his 
career with a great work on the diseases of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley, a work of great value, embodying 
an immense amount of research, information, and 
science. 

General Edward King was another member of the 
society, who, in spirit, manners, and elocution, was a 
superior man, having the dignity of the old school, 
with the life of the new. He was a son of Rufus 
King, one of the early and able statesmen of our 



264 Personal Memories. 

country who did much to form our constitutions, and 
whose name will live in the annals of history. Gen. 
King wns bred a lawyer, and came out to Ohio, as 
many aspiring young men did, to found his fortunes 
in what was then the ISTew West. He married a 
daughter of Governor Worthington, practiced law at 
Chillicothe, and became speaker of the Ohio Legisla- 
ture. Removing to Cincinnati, he became a member 
of our literary circle — both witty and entertaining. 
His wife, since known as Mrs. Peter, has become more 
widely known than her husband, for her great and 
active benevolence, and as the founder of institution's, 
and a leader in society. She had read a great deal, 
had a strong memory, and was remarkable for the 
fullness of her information. She wrote several essays 
for our circle, and was a most instructive member. 
The activity, energy, and benevolence of her mind 
accomplished in the next forty years probably more 
of real work for the benefit of society, than any one 
person, and that work has made her widely known 
both at home and abroad. 

Another member of our circle was Judge James 
Hall, then editor of the Western Monthly Magazine, 
whose name is known both in Europe and America, 
lie also, in the long time that elapsed before his death, 
accomplished much and good work as a writer, citizen, 
and man of business. The Western Monthly Magazine, 
which he then edited, was an excellent periodical, to 
which many of the literary young men of Cincinnati 
contributed. But literary periodicals there have never 
been profitable. Many have been published, but soon 
perished. Judge Hall left the magazine to become 
cashier and president of the Commercial Bank, a 



Personal Memories. 265 

much more profitable business. In the meanwhile, 
he published several stories, novels, and essays on the 
West, which made him widely known, and deserved 
the success they received, by their very pleasant style 
and pictures of Western life. 

Professor Stowe, then a comparatively young man, 
was also present, and contributed his share to the con- 
versation. He is the best Biblical scholar I ever 
knew. In recent years he has published his " History 
of the Books of the Bible," a work of great learning 
and of great utility. His first wife, a New England 
lady, quite handsome and interesting, also attended 
the reunions. His present wife, then Miss Harriet 
Beecher, was just beginning to be known for her lit- 
erary abilities. Two or three years after this time, I 
published in the Cincinnati Chronicle what, I believe, 
was her first printed story. I had heard her read at 
Miss Pierce's school, in Litchfield, Connecticut, her 
first public composition. It surprised everyone so 
much that it was attributed to her father, but was in 
fact only the first exhibition of her remarkable talents. 
In the reunion I speak of, she was not distinguished for 
conversation, but when she did speak, showed some- 
thing of the peculiar strength and humor of her mind. 
Her first little story, published in the Chronicle, im- 
mediately attracted attention, and her writings have 
always been popular. Notwithstanding the world- 
wide renown of "Uncle Tom's Calling her real genius 
and characteristics were as much exhibited in her 
short stories as in her larger books. Her sister, Miss 
Catharine Beecher, was a far more easy and fluent 
conversationalist. Indeed, few people had more tal- 
ent to entertain a company, or keep the ball of conver- 



266 Personal Memories. 



sation going than Miss Beecher, and she was as will- 
ing as able for the task. For many years she was dis- 
tinguished as an educator, and has published works 
on domestic economy, metaphysics, and religion. Her 
name is widely known, and she is distinguished as an 
author and a philanthropist. 

Conspicuous in our circle, both in person and man- 
ners, was Mrs. Caroline Lee Ilentze, whom none saw 
without admiring. She was what the world called 
charming. And, though since better known as an 
authoress, was personally quite remarkable. Her hus- 
band, Mr. Hentze, was a Frenchman, born in the 
French Revolution. A man of such sensitive and re- 
tiring habits, as hid him from the public view. Yet, 
he was a man of science, fond of entomology and 
natural history. At the time I speak of, they were 
keeping a popular female seminary on Third street, 



and were among the most active and interesting of 
our coterie. Soon after this, they moved to the South, 
and established a female seminary there, and Mrs. 
Hentze contributed several novels to the press. I 
might name other persons whose wit or information 
contributed to the charms of our intercourse, but I 
should want the apology which public fame has given 
to the mention of these. We had more than one 
whose memory does not linger on the fame-covered 
hill, but whose bright minds flowed in the vale below, 
and sparkled as it flowed. 

It is enough that I have mentioned out of a small 
circle gathered in a parlor names which have been re- 
nowned both in Europe and America, and whose pub- 
lic reputation has contributed to the fame of our coun- 
try. I have dwelt more particularly on these meetings 



Personal Memories. 2G7 

to illustrate what I think I 've seen in other cases, and 
to which people in general seldom give due weight. I 
mean the influence of social sympathy in forming and 
developing individual minds. 

Several years since, I heard one of the oldest and 
most experienced teachers in the United States enume- 
rate a number of distinguished public men in New 
York, who had all been at the same time pupils of one 
school. Among them were the most eminent literary 
men of that state. I can not doubt that they greatly 
influenced one another in their tastes and studies, for 
I have seen that in other schools and societies. 

About the year 1833, was founded what was called 
" The College of Teachers," which continued ten years, 
and was an institution of great utility and wide influ- 
ence. Its object was both professional and popular ; 
to unite and improve teachers, and, at the same time, 
to commend the cause of education to the public mind. 
The former object might have been obtained by the 
meeting of practical teachers only, as is now done, but 
to popularize education required that gentlemen of 
science and general reputation, who had weight with 
the community, should also be connected with it. At 
that time, public education was just beginning, and 
almost all in the Ohio educational system, as I shall 
hereafter show, was created and developed after that 
period. To do this was the object in view, and, 
accordingly, a large array of distinguished persons 
took part in these proceedings. I doubt whether in 
any one association to promote the cause of education, 
there was ever in an equal space of time concentrated 
In this country a larger measure of talent, informa- 
tion, and zeal. Among those who either spoke or 



268 Personal Memories. 

wrote for it, were Albert Pickett, the president, and 
for half a century an able teacher ; Dr. Daniel Drake, 
the Hon. Thomas Smith Grimke, the Rev. Joshua L. 
Wilson, Alexander Kinmont, and James H. Perkins, 
Prof. Stowe, Dr. Beecher, Dr. Alex. Campbell, 
Bishop Purcell, President McG-uffey, Dr. Ayde- 
lotte, E. D. Mansfield, Mrs. Lydia Sigourxey, and 
Mrs. Caroline Lee Hextze. 

With these were numerous professors, practical 
teachers, and citizens, zealous for the cause of edu- 
cation, most of whom contributed more or less to the 
transactions of the college. These transactions were 
for several years embodied in annual volumes, which 
can no doubt be found in public libraries, and which 
contain able and eloquent treatises on various sub- 
jects. 

The duty of organization and publication — in fact, 
that of practicallj 7 sustaining the association — fell 
mainly on the working teachers of Cincinnati, and for 
this reason, probably, it ultimately died away, and lost 
its popular character. It had, however, accomplished 
its object, in exciting popular interest in education, 
and impelling many persons to its support, who had 
the ability and influence, to found the present system 
of public schools in Ohio. Since that time, associa- 
tions of practical teachers have taken its place, and 
are be}~ond doubt useful and instructive to teachers. 
Yet there is wanting some popular means of connect- 
ing teachers with the great public ; and I am convinced 
that the College of Teachers, composed of both practi- 
cal and literary men, was the best reunion of that sort 
vet devised, and for which no substitute has been found. 
The human spirit, like a plant, needs a genial soil, and 



Personal Memories. 2G9 

draws nutriment not only from the earth, but from the 
atmosphere. In this place it is proper to mention 
some of those who took an active part 'in the College 
of Teachers, and nearly all of whom are dead. 

Albert Pickett, president of the College of Teach- 
ers, was a venerable, gray-haired man, who had been 
for nearly fifty years a practical teacher. He had for 
many years kept a select academy, in New York. He 
removed to Cincinnati a few years before the period 
of which I speak, and established a select school for 
young ladies. He was a thorough teacher, a man of 
clear head, and filled with zeal for his profession. He 
presided over the college with great dignity, and I 
never knew a man of more pure, disinterested zeal in 
the cause of education. 

Dr. Joshua L. Wilson was a pioneer in the church 
as well as in the settlement of Cincinnati. He was 
not the first pastor of the Presbyterian Church, but 
was the longest in service — I think about forty years. 
In the College of Teachers he was an earnest and 
zealous advocate of public education ; but demanded 
that education should' be founded on religion, and 
the Bible should be a primary element in all public 
education. In 1830, Dr. Wilson delivered an address, 
in one paragraph of which he sums up his reasoning 
on this subject (which is also an example of his style 
and sentiments) : " But, to sum up what I have said, 
' God has made of one blood all nations of men.' 
These natures of ours, which climate, custom, lan- 
guage, and religion have made appear so opposite, are 
formed after the same image, Is the rude Hotentot 
superior to the ape ? It is because he is a man, and 
not a brute. Is the civilized man superior to the 






270 Personal Memories. 

Hottentot ? It is because he is instructed and edu- 
cated. Is the Christian superior to the pagan? It is 
because he knows the Bible, and its Divine Author." 
Alexander Kinmont might be called an apostle of 
classical learning. If others considered the classics 
necessary to an education, he thought them the one 
thing needful — the pillar and foundation of solid learn- 
ing. For this he contended with the zeal of a martyr 
for his creed ; and if ever the classics received aid 
from the manner in which they were handled, they re- 
ceived it from him. Kinmont was a Scotchman, born 
near Montrose, Angusshire. Having accidentally lost 
one arm, he was left to pursue the bent of his tastes 
toward learning. In school and college he bore off the 
first prizes, and advanced with rapid steps in the 
career of knowledge. At the University of Edin- 
burgh, which he entered while yet young, he became 
tainted with the scepticism then very prevalent. Re- 
moving to America, he became principal of the Bed- 
ford Academy, where he shone as a superior teacher. 
There he emerged from the gloom and darkness of 
scepticism, to the faith of the " New Church," as the 
church founded on the principles of Swedenborg is 
called. His vivid imagination was well adapted to re- 
ceive these doctrines, and he advocated them with all 
the fervor of his nature. In 1827, he removed to 
Cincinnati, and established a select academy for the 
instruction of boys in mathematical and classical learn- 
ing. The motto adopted was: " Sit gloria Dei, et 
vtilitatc hominum" a motto which . does honor to 
both his head and heart. In 1835, before the College 
of Teachers, he was specially opposed to the doctrines 
of Mr. Grimke, which were in favor of what he termed 



Personal Memories. 271 



ail " American education," and in opposition to ma- 
thematics and the classics. On this he rose to the 
highest style of oratory, and seemed like one of those 
classical heroes whom lie admired so much. Kin- 
mont made a profound impression on those who knew 
him, and to me he had the air and character of a man 
of superior genius, and, what is very rare, of one whose 
learning was equal to his genius. 

James II. Perkins took little part in the college, 
but was one of the literary circle of which it was 
mainly constituted. He was a New England man, 
highly educated ; came out to Cincinnati as a lawyer ; 
was a year or two editor of the Chronicle; and finally 
a minister of the Unitarian Church in this city, where 
be made a strong impression. He died young, and 
was most profoundly lamented by a large circle of 
friends, and held in honorable remembrance bv the 
community in which he had lived. As a writer, Mr. 
Perkins was remarkably graceful and easy, and some 
of his short articles were as popular as any written in 
the country. When editor or the Chronicle, I pub- 
lished one of Mr. Perkins' articles, called " The Hole 
in my Pocket." That article, I think, must have been 
published in nearly all the newspapers in the country. 
Years after it was first published, I saw it in our ex- 
change papers, floating about. He edited a work en- 
titled " Western Annals," or " Annals of the West," 
the materials for which were mainly furnished, by 
James Albuch. It is the only complete book of its 
kind I know of, and the only monument which Mr. 
Perkins left to his literary labors. 

Dr. Lyman Beecher w r as one of the speakers in the 
College of Teachers, but contributed little to its pro- 



272 Personal Memories. 

ceedinsrs. On one occasion he entered into the dis- 
cnssion of the question, whether excitement to emula- 
tion was an admissible means of education. On this 
subject there are various opinions. Dr. Beecher, and 
a majority of the committee, made a report against 
the admission of emulation in any form. The other 
members of the committee, being Mr. Pickett, Dr. Drake, 
and President McGuffey, made a counter-report. The 
college did not adopt either report, but simply passed 
a resolution, that rewards to merit were a right and 
proper means of education. 

Bisuop Purcell was present in several meetings, 
but took no active part in the proceedings. 

Among others present, was Dr. Alexander Camp- 
bell — a most remarkable man. He became, perhaps 
unintentionally, the founder of a large religious sect, 
called, in his time, Campbellite Baptists, but now 
known as The Disciples of Christ. I have heard Dr. 
Campbell preach, for the very purpose of ascertaining 
his doctrines. I can not be mistaken in two of his 
peculiar principles — the first, that the Bible alone is 
the only creed, and that no human "creed is right ; 
secondly, that regeneration is coincident with baptism 
that is, baptismal regeneration. On this account, he 
was at first excluded from the Baptist Church, but the 
opinions he held were in some degree popular, and 
the sect he founded has continued to increase. Camp- 
bell was a man of learning, keen intellect, and an in- 
structive speaker. He was interesting in discussion 
and conversation. His name will probably live longer 
as the founder of a sect than that of many men of 
genius. 

One of the most remarkable men who appeared in 



Personal Memories. 273 



the College of teachers was Thomas Smith Grimke, 
of South Carolina — a most devoted Christian, and a 
thorough American. He had formed some very pe- 
culiar theories of education, flowing from the ultraism 
of his ideas. The classics, he held, should not be 
taught as a means of educatiou, because they were 
the literature of heathenism, and inculcated false prin- 
ciples. The study of Homer, he said, had given the 
heroic character to the leading men of South Caro- 
lina, so that they dwelt in the ideality of a false 
heroism, rather than in the plain, practical, Christian 
sentiment of America. Hence, he said, sprang the 
duel, dissatisfaction with the Union, and the outbreak 
of nullification — to which may since be added the 
Rebellion. Against mathematics he protested almost 
equally strongly. He thought it unnecessary to give 
so much time to the study of abstract science, when it 
could be employed ou the Bible, literature, and po- 
litical institutions. 

In advocating these ideas he delivered a fine address 
before the College of Teachers. On the subject of 
the classics he was answered by Professor Post, in a 
very elegant discourse. On the subject of mathe- 
matics he was answered by myself, in a discourse en- 
titled "The Utility of Mathematics." Parts of this 
address have for forty years been published in school 
readers. The peculiarities of Mr. Grimke did not 
diminish the high regard in which his character was 
held. He was an earnest Christian, a man of pro- 
found thought, of excellent learning, and of noble 
conduct. He carried us back to the days of primi- 
tive Christianity, and his discourses on science, litera- 
ture, and religion were filled with the spirit of piety. 



274 Personal Memories. 

The Charleston Temperance Society declared emphat- 
ically that he was the father of the temperance move- 
ment in South Carolina. lie was a member of the 
Episcopal Church, and adorned by his life and con- 
versation the doctrines he professed. He held some 
peculiar opinions. He believed it the duty of every 
Christian, ecclesiastic or layman, to preach the gospel 
to every creature, and authorized to administer the 
ordinances of religion. He worked to make the 
world altogether righteous by means which supposed 
it already such. 

" Of those 
That build their monuments where virtue builds, 
Art thou ; and gathered to thy rest, we deem 
That thou wast lent us just to show how blest 
And lovely is the life that lives for all." 

Among the first subjects of interest which came 
before the College of Teachers was the inefficiency of 
the school system and the ignorance of teachers. 
These points were fully discussed until the principles 
necessary for improvement were determined. Look- 
ing to an efficient school law, the College of Teachers 
passed a resolution that it would greatly advance 
the interests of education in the West for teachers 
and friends of education to hold periodical conven- 
tions at the seats of government in the different 
states, during the session of the general assemblies. 

In pursuance of this resolution, a convention of 
teachers and friends of education was hold in Colum- 
bus, assembling on the loth of January, 1836. Of 
this convention Governor Lucas was president; Dr. 
llogue, vice-president, and Milo J. Williams, secre- 
tary. Prior to this time Governor Vance had ap- 



Personal Memories. 275 

pointed Professor Calvin E. Stowe an agent of the 
state to visit Prussia, and obtain information on the 
Prussian system of instruction. lie had just returned, 
and was a member of the convention. The Prussian 
school system was discussed, lectures delivered, and 
debates held. The subject of common schools was 
referred to a committee, and on the 16th of January 
the committee reported, by E. D. Mansfield, point- 
ing out the defects of the school law, and recommend- 
ing amendments in relation to the appointment of a 
superintendent, the requisition of higher qualifica- 
tions on the part of teachers, the greater responsibil- 
ity and additional duties of examiners, the establish- 
ment of school libraries, and the collection of school 
statistics. This report was adopted in the form of a 
memorial to the legislature, and all its recommenda- 
tions have since been embodied in the school laws. 

The convention of the friends of education met 
again in tile winter of 1836-1837, and recommended 
the substance of the act of March, 1838, which was 
adopted by the legislature, and made one of the most 
important school epochs of the state. In fine, the 
College of Teachers was the moving cause of that 
magnificent school system which has placed Ohio in 
the front rank of states who regard education as the 
defense of republican freedom. 

In the proceedings of the College of Teachers I 
took an active part, as I did in all movements for 
education. Besides the discourse on " The Utility of 
Mathematics," I made several reports, and entered into 
nearly all the public discussions. Subsequently I de- 
livered several lectures, and published a volume on 



27G Personal Memories. 

various topics connected with popular education. On, 
looking back upon this part of my life, I find nothing 
to regret, but feel grateful that I was permitted to do 
something for the promotion of the intelligence and 
elevation of the people. 



Personal Memories. 277 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Ormsby Mitchell — The Political Grammar— Dr. Lyman 
Beecher — John Quincy Adams — Abolition — Right of 
Petition — Bank of the United States — Removal of the 
Deposits — Storrr and Lytic — Cincinnati College — Dr. 
McGaffey — Chartes Telford— Cincinnati Chronicle — 
Ben jam in Drake — Myself. 

In the year 1834 I had my office on Third street, 
near Main. My partner in our professed law business 
was Ormsby Mcj^igiit Mitchell, a man so noted and 
so brilliant that I must mention him here. Mitchell 
was noted at West Point for his quickness and in- 
genuity. My father, who was professor of philos- 
ophy there, used to say of him: "Little Mitchell is 
very ingenious." He was more than that, for he was 
what you seldom see, a man of real genins. A great 
many people are spoken of as men of genius, but I 
never saw more than half a dozen in my life, and 
Ormsby Mitchell was one of them. Many of those 
who read these pages will remember him as the 
founder of theCincinnatiObservatory, as an eloquent 
lecturer on astronomy, and as a patriotic general in 
the war. I shall speak of him hereafter in each of 
these capacities. It is enough now to say that he was 
my partner in a profession for which I think neither 
of us was well adapted. We were really literary 
men, and our thoughts wandered off to other sub- 
jects. The scene in our office was often a remarka- 



278 Personal Memories. 

blc one, though observed by no eyes but our own. 
Mitchell was fond of the classics, and instinctively 
fond of eloquence, which in his after lectures on as- 
tronomy he so brilliantly exhibited. The scene I re- 
fer to was this: Mitchell sat in one corner reading 1 
Quintilian, a Latin author on oratory. He was enam- 
ored of the book, and would turn to me and read 
passages from it. I, on the other hand, sat at my 
desk in another corner, writing my Political Gram- 
mar (now the Political Manual). Thns we were two 
students, each occupied with his own literary pursuits, 
and neither thinking of what both professed, the prac- 
tice of the law. The consequence was, what might 
have been expected, Mitchell resorted to teaching 
classes, and I became a public writer. "YVe both 
found our vocations, though, very different from what 
either had anticipated. 

This was one of the cholera seasons, in which I fin- 
ished my Political Grammar, and found relief from 
the anxieties of the season in my literary work. Lit- 
erary work has been the theme of my existence, and 
I can say with Cicero, at however great a distance, 
that it has been with me, in the city and in the coun- 
try, at home and abroad, a pleasure in prosperity and 
a solace in adversity. It has never been a labor to 
me, as some think, but a pleasant employment. In 
some form, whether of newspaper, book, or statistical 
work, it has compensated me as well as most profes- 
sional employment. I can not complain of it, while 
I am thankful that it has done some good, and been 
of no little service to the public interests. 

There were many things of interest in the year 
1834, and to us as individuals, not the least was, that 



Personal Memories. 279 



both Mitchell and I joined the Second Presbyterian 
Church. The pastor of that church was Dr. Lyman 
Beecher, one of the most remarkable clergymen in 
the United States ; remarkable for great abilities, great 
virtues, great power as a speaker, and no little eccen- 
tricity. I have known and heard many of the most 
able, noted, and eloquent preachers in the United 
States; but, taken all in all, I never knew the equal 
of Dr. Beecher in the Christian ministry. The pulpits 
and the places he occupied before the public will, in 
some measure, testify to his eminence. He was pas- 
tor of the church in Litchfield, Connecticut, when I 
was a law student. The students all attended his 
church, and it was there he delivered his six lectures 
on temperance, which were the origin of the first great 
temperance movement. 

Thence, he went to Boston as the pastor of the 
Park Street Church, where he was engaged in the 
Unitarian controversy ; from there he was called to 
the leading professorship in Lane Seminary, a theo- 
logical institution just founded in Cincinnati. He 
was now also pastor of the Second Presbyterian 
Church ; his mind was so active and industrious that 
he filled both offices with unrivaled success. At this 
time, 1834, there was a quiet but extensive revival in 
the Second Presbyterian Church ; it was then that 
Mitchell, I, and perhaps forty others united with the 
church, of which I was a member during the whole 
of my residence in Cincinnati. 

My Political Grammar, by Harper & Brothers, New 
York, subsequently published by Truman & Smith, 
was transferred to A. S. Barnes & Co., New York, 
who now publish it as the Political Manual. It was 



280 Personal Memories. 

begun when the nullification question, the real origin 
of the Rebellion had just been discussed, and I was 
filled with the absurditv of nullification and with love 
of the Union. Under these circumstances the book 
contained very positive ideas on that subject, and was 
charged with being onesided ; however that may be, 
it has remained before the public for forty years and 
met with the approbation of intelligent men and pa- 
triotic people. This year also saw the beginning of a 
controversy on the subject of slavery, which lasted 
until slavery was destroyed in the civil war. Perhaps, 
this is the proper place to mention how that contro- 
versy began. I have already in a former chapter 
mentioned the Missouri Compromise and the excite- 
ment which it caused ; that had died away until the 
tariff of 1828 caused a new agitation in the South, 
which I have also described ; this caused nullification, 
and the claim then strongly put forth, that a state had 
the right to interpose and nullify the laws of the 
United States. All these transactions had undoubt- 
edly increased the feeling of thoughtful and religious 
people in the North, that slavery was the real cause 
of these agitations, and that unless some remedy for 
it could be found, either the Union would be destroyed 
or slavery become dominant in the whole country. 
Hence, arose abolition societies. The idea of an 
abolition society was not a new thing. The Society 
of Friends, Franklin, Rush, and numbers of enlight- 
ened and benevolent people had presented petitions 
against slavery in the early stage of the government; 
they were then treated with respect, but caused no 
public agitation ; now, however, the abolition societies 
were regarded as political agitators, disunionists, and 



Personal Memories. 281 

assailants of constitutional rights. In the North 
as well as the South, they were regarded as the ene- 
mies of the Union, of commerce, and of the constitu- 
tion. At least, such was the coloring put upon them 
by all leading politicians, and almost all the press. 
They established papers to sustain their opinions, and 
in the controversy which ensued the leaders became 
martyrs to their defense of freedom. Garrison was 
imprisoned in Baltimore, Owen Lovejoy, in Illinois, 
was killed by a mob, and hundreds of others less 
noted were imprisoned, or exiled, or killed, or mur- 
dered. At this time, 1834, they had excited little in- 
terest, but had begun to present petitions to Congress. 
The right of petition was an undoubted constitutional 
right of every man, woman, or child, black or white, 
bond or free. It was so described and maintained 
by Jons Quincy Adams in his bold and vigorous 
speeches upon this question. Here it was that the 
South committed a great blunder, unless their leaders 
looked forward not only to civil war, but to success in 
it. They assumed that the abolition societies were 
the cause of a dangerous agitation, and, therefore, 
must be suppressed by negative if not positive law ; 
that is, the right of petition must be denied altogether. 
This, they undertook to do. The controversy on the 
right of petition, for the next half a dozen years, ex- 
hibits clearly the purpose of the South to suppress all 
discussion on the subject of slavery. A few historical 
facts will show this clearly. In December, 1835, 
Mr. Fairfield, of Maine, presented the petition of 
one hundred and seventy-two women, praying the 
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia; it 
was laid on the table, yeas, 180 ; nays, 31 ; the nays 



282 Personal Memories. 

all from the North, and mainly Whigs. A few days 
after, Mr. Jackson, of Massachusetts, presented a sim- 
ilar petition, and it was laid on the table, yeas, 140 ; 
nays, 76. In the following year, Mr. Buchanan, of 
Pennsylvania, presented a similar petition in the sen- 
ate, from the meeting of Friends, and he moved that 
the memorial be read and the prayer of the petitioners 
be rejected. 

In December, 1837, finding that the agitation was 
not quieted, it was resolved by the house of represen- 
tatives : " That all petitions, memorials, and papers 
touching the abolition of slavery, or the relations of 
slaves in any state or territory of the United States, 
be laid upon the table, without being debated, printed, 
read, or referred." This resolution was passed by 
yeas, 122 : nays, 74; the nays being mainly, if not en- 
tirely, the Whig members from the free states. In 
December, 1838, Mr. Atherton, a Democrat from New 
Hampshire, introduced a set of resolutions, which 
caused great excitement and discussion at the time. 
The last clause was the one most important and most 
discussed ; it was this : " That every petition, memo- 
rial, resolution, proposition, or paper, touching or re- 
lating in any way, or to any extent whatever, to slav- 
ery, as aforesaid, or the abolition thereof, shall, 
on the presentation thereof, be laid on the table 
without being debated, printed, or referred." This 
was called the Gag law; its object was to silence all 
discussion whatever ; it passed by yeas, 127 ; nays, 78. 
It would seem that the house had now done all that 
was possible to silence the agitation of the slavery 
question. But in January, 1840, William Cost John- 



Personal Memories. 283 

son, of Maryland, Whig, introduced resolutions, the 
last of which was : 

" Kesolved, that no petition, memorial, resolution, 
or other paper praying for the abolition of slavery in 
the District of Columbia, or any state or territory, or 
the slave trade between the states or territories of the 
United States in which it now exists, shall be received 
by the house or entertained in any way whatever." 

It will be seen that in these live years the house had 
step by step arrived at the conclusion, not merely to 
reject, but not even to receive any petitions on the 
subject of slavery. This was so directly contrary to 
the received opinions of the United States, on the 
subject of constitutional freedom, that even some 
Southern members voted against it. The resolution was, 
however, carried by a 114 to 108 ; the majority being 
made by Northern dough-faces, who had neither the 
courage to resist, nor the sense to understand this vio- 
lent abrogation of constitutional rights. Of the 
twenty-eight Northern members who voted for it, six 
came from Ohio; they soon passed into oblivion and 
their names are now unknown, except in the political 
record of the day. The controversy on the right of 
petition was now ended until these usurpations were 
all blotted out in the blood of the Rebellion. Even the 
historian will scarcely notice them, since slavery and 
all its attendant crimes are, we trust, destroyed forever. 

"We must now return to the year 1884, in which were 
many subjects of political interest. One of these was 
the removal of the deposits by Jackson. The Bank 
of the United States then existed, and had been char- 
tered for the very purpose of transacting the financial 
business of the United States. The public deposits 



284 Personal Memories. 

were by law made in that bank, which also transferred 
the government moneys, and in fact performed its 
financial business. Jackson was opposed to the bank, 
and greatly irritated by the conduct of Nicholas Bid- 
die, president of the bank, who very unwisely under- 
took to oppose and resist the influence of the presi- 
dent. In consequence of his own irritation and hos- 
tility, he undertook to remove the deposits. Finding 
the secretary of the treasury opposed to his views, he 
appointed Mr. Duane, of Philadelphia, secretary of 
the treasury, but Duane was also opposed to his mode 
of proceeding. In a brief time, Duane was removed 
from office, and Soger B. Taney, of Maryland, after- 
ward chief justice, was appointed secretary, and the 
deposits were removed. This whole procedure shocked 
the public mind, and was the real origin of the Whig 
party. It is possible the term had been used before 
this time, but it was first used as the collective name 
of the great party opposed to Jackson. I was at a 
meeting in the court-house of Cincinnati in the year 
1834, and spoke and introduced resolutions in which 
the term Whig was employed. It was the first meet- 
ing in which I ever heard it employed. The objects 
of the Whig party were, opposition to arbitrary power, 
as exhibited by Jackson, and in favor of legislation for 
the "general welfare," embracing subjects of finance, 
industry, and commerce. The term " general welfare " 
is expressly used in the constitution to denote the gen- 
eral legislation of congress. Tbe right thus to legislate 
on these subjects, without a special grant in the con- 
stitution, was denied by the present Democratic party, 
which began at the same time with the Whigs, and 



Personal Memories. 285 



which professed an adherence to state rights and strict 
construction of the constitution. 

I say the present Democratic party, because the old 
Democratic party, in the time of Jefferson, did not call 
itself Democratic. It was a nickname, given it by its 
opponents from the Democratic clubs of France and the 
Democratic clubs formed in this country by Genet, the 
French ambassador, who was sent home by "Washing- 
ton for interference in politics. The party of Jefferson, 
now called the old Democratic party, called itself Re- 
publican, and all the official records of that party, down 
to the last caucus in 181(3, show this fact. The present 
Republican party has the name of the old Democratic 
party, and it has proved its name to be quite as popu- 
lar as that of Democratic. Thus we see that in 1834 
the parties, or rather great factions, which had been 
formed under personal leaders, such as Clay, Jackson, 
Adams, and Crawford, were now consolidated into the 
great national parties called Whig and Democratic, 
which for the time being were separated by real prin- 
ciples. 

The opponents of the United States Dank, who, 
after the removal of the deposits by Jackson, became 
hostile to paper money, proposed the doctrine of hard 
monev, and Colonel Benton, then in the senate, said 
that gold would flow up the Mississippi. This was 
laughed at by the Whigs, and gold has not yet flowed 
up the Mississippi. But this idea gave rise to a curi- 
ous incident in Cincinnati politics. Robekt T. Lytle 
(son of General William Lytle, a pioneer in this sec- 
tion, and a warm friend of Jackson's) represented Cin- 
cinnati in congress. He was a lawyer, and quite a 
brilliant man, ambitious of political honors, and a 



28G Personal Memories. 



protege of Jackson's. In fact, I was told that Jack- 
son treated him almost as a son. Of course, when 
Jackson removed the deposits, Lytle sustained him by 
his vote ; but in the meanwhile the business men of 
Cincinnati considered themselves injured and endan- 
gered by the attack on the United States Bank. In 
consequence of this feeling, Lytle was defeated at the 
next election, and was succeeded by Bellamy Storer. 
At the end of Storer's term, he declined a renomina- 
tion, and the Democrats nominated Lytle, but the 
Whigs were exasperated by Jackson's conduct toward 
the bank, and determined, if they could not elect their 
candidate, they would put a slight upon Lytle. There 
was a wild, good-natured young man, called Wash. 
Mason, whom they nominated for congress against 
Lytle, and called the contest " Gildibus against Gold- 
ibus." Strange as it may seem, " Gildibus " came within 
about fifty votes of being elected, a result which ac- 
complished what the Whigs intended as a slight, but 
not a success. Lytle did not remain in Congress, and 
in a few years died. His son, General Wm. H. Lytle, 
was also a brilliant man, who was killed on the Union 
side in the war. 

Perhaps this is the proper place to mention the 
final result of Jackson's war on the bank. The bank 
was not rechartered by congress, but was chartered by 
the State of Pennsylvania. It undertook to sustain 
the State of Pennsylvania in its great internal im- 
provements and developments, and supply national 
currency. In one word, it undertook to do the 
business of a national bank, without its power. The 
result was, the bank failed, and caused a good deal 
of commercial disaster. About this time, great num- 



Personal Memories. 287 

bers of state banks were chartered, and, instead of a 
national currency, we had a state bank paper. Jack- 
son, to avoid, as he thought, the effects of destroying 
the United States Bank, advised the state banks to 
issue currency and aid the merchants. This they did, 
and within three years the banks failed, and the great- 
est commercial disaster the country had ever known 
took place, and for six or seven years the commercial 
distress was greater than it ever has been before or 
since. Such was the result of what may fairly be 
termed ignorance and presumption. 

Cincinnati College, which had been founded in 1818- 
1819, was revived in 1835, with an academic and med- 
ical department. The principal founder of Cincinnati 
College was General William Lytle, who proposed to 
some of the citizens that they should finish the build- 
ing which had been begun for the Lancaster Seminary, 
endow it, and procure a college charter. Leading 
the way with a subscription of $11,500 (eleven thousand 
five hundred dollars), he was followed by as many as 
forty respectable citizens, whose contributions made 
a large amount. A charter was obtained which 
gave ample power to appoint professors, organize a 
faculty, and confer all the degrees which are usually 
conferred in any college or university in the United 
States. Under this charter classes were subsequently 
formed, and many of the prominent young men of 
Cincinnati were taught and graduated in that institu- 
tion. A few years afterward the college was aban- 
doned, and only a primary department retained. In 
the revival of the Cincinnati College there was insti- 
tuted a medical department, a law department, and a 
faculty of arts. The medical department had in it 



288 Personal Memories. 

three of the most eminent medical men in the United 
States, Dr. Drake, of whom I have spoken, Dr. Gross, 
and Dr. Willard Parker. The last two are still 
alive ; Dr. Gross, the most eminent surgeon in Phila- 
delphia, and Dr. Parker, certainly one of the most 
eminent physicians in New York. The law school 
had been founded as a private institution, by two gen- 
tlemen of the bar, Edward King, Esquire, and Timothy 
Walker, Esquire. At this time, 1836, General King- 
was dead, and the law school was composed of pro- 
fessors John C. Wright, Joseph S. Benham, and Timo- 
thy Walker. In these departments, however, I had 
less interest than in the literary faculty, of which I was 
a member. Of that I will relate some facts of interest 
at the time, but which may not now be remembered. 
The literary department of Cincinnati College ceased 
to exist after three or four years, for want of any en- 
dowment to sustain it. In that time, however, it ex- 
cited great interest in Cincinnati, and was the center 
of all literary activity there. The faculty were com- 
posed as follows : 

W. II. McGuffey, president, and professor of moral 
and intellectual philosophy; Ormsby M. Mitchell, 
professor of mathematics and astronomy; Asa Drury, 
professor of ancient languages; Charles L. Telford, 
professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres; Edward D. 
Mansfield, professor of constitutional y law and his- 
tory; Lyman Harding, principal of the preparatory 
department; Joseph Herron, principal of the primary 
department. 

The president, Eev. W. II. McGuffey, had been 
several years a professor of Miami University, Oxford, 
where he had acquired a high reputation, and after he 



Pergonal Memories. 289 



left Cincinnati became president of Ohio University, 
at Athens, and subsequently professor of intellectual 
philosophy in the University of Virginia. In all this 
career his reputation was constantly increasing, his 
usefulness was great, and his ability in his peculiar 
department unsurpassed by any man in the United 
States. Mr. McGuff'ey entered Cincinnati College with 
the full knowledge that it was an experimental career, 
but he came with an energy and a zeal in the cause of 
education, and the pursuit of high and noble duties, 
which are rarely met with and are sure to command 
success. His mind was more analytical and logical 
than that of any one I have known or whose works I 
have read. In his discourses and lectures before 
members of the college he disentangled difficulties, 
made mysteries plain, and brought the abstruse and 
the profound within the reach of common intellects. 
Hence his Sunday morning discourses in the college 
chapel were always numerously attended, and his 
manner of treating metaphysics was universally popu- 
lar. I thought then,' and think now, he was the only 
sound and clear-headed metaphysician of whom it has 
been my lot to know anything. One reason of this 
was that he was a practical teacher of great ability. 
In fine, he was naturally formed for the department of 
philosophy, and in Cincinnati College put forth with 
zeal and fervor those talents which were peculiarly his 
own. 

Ormsby M. Mitchell, professor of mathematics, 
has since acquired so broad a reputation as to reflect 
honor upon rather than have derived it from the chair 
he then held. He was a graduate of West Point, 
always distinguished for his love of mathematics and 



290 Personal Memories. 



astronomy. In Cincinnati he had b.een several years 
a teacher, and no one ever taught more successfully. 
In the college he took almost the sole charge of the 
department of physical science, and for several years 
taught large classes zealously and laboriously. He re- 
mained in the college while it was possible to hold it 
together. Soon after the dissolution of Cincinnati 
College, he commenced that career, both civil and 
military, which has since made his name so distin- 
guished and widely known. Of this I shall speak 



again. 



The Rev. Asa Drury, professor of languages, had 
both the knowledge and the tact of an excellent 
teacher, and both his pupils and colleagues gave tes- 
timony to his worth. He was afterward professor in 
the Baptist Seminary, Covington, for several years. 

Charles L. Telford was not a common man. A 
graduate of Miami University, he was a partner of Mr. 
Groesbeck in the practice of the law, when he was 
elected professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres. Tall, 
erect, dignified, and of grave manners, he was of manly 
carriage and commanding presence. Of him it might 
be said, he was "without fear and without reproach." 
He was a fine writer and a graceful orator, but died 
young, soon after the dissolution of the college. 

With such a faculty, I thought, as Dr. Gross did, of 
the medical department, "we should have succeeded," 
and practically we did, for the college had at one time 
as many as one hundred and sixty pupils, and certainly 
received the encouragement of the community. But 
it was entirely without endowment, and without any 
revenue save that received from tuition. Experience 
proved, after many trials, that a literary institution 



Personal Memories. 291 

can not be sustained without some endowment for its 
apparatus, library, and incidental expenses ; the college, 
therefore, as a college, was dissolved. But having a 
very valuable lot, it still does a good work in the law 
school it has established, and in courses of lectures by 
able men. My own part in the practical teaching of 
the college was small, having no share in its class in- 
struction. In one season, however, I delivered lectures 
on the Law of Equity and the Constitution, to the law 
class. And of that class several have since been dis- 
tinguished in public life. I also delivered a series of 
popular lectures on the history of civilization. Aside 
from these I had taken part in the labors of the insti- 
tuion. Meeting my colleagues in faculty meetings, 
and in social intercourse, we became intimate, and 
some of the pleasantest and most instructive hours I 
ever passed were spent in the intellectual and brilliant 
society of the professors of the Cincinnati College. 
We were all in the early prime of life, labor seemed 
light, care made no impression, and sorrow was less- 
ened by the hopes of the future; we gathered knowl- 
edge from every passing event and pleasure from every 
opening scene. Such periods come bat once, they make 
the golden thread of life, they give brightness to its 
days, and linger on through the years of memory. We 
never met without pleasure, nor ever parted without 
reo-rettins: the shortness of the hours. To have such 
meetings I regarded as no small blessing, and to have 
them no longer is among my deepest regrets. Con- 
nected in some measure with Cincinnati College was 
the establishment of the Cincinnati Chronicle, of 
which I was editor. As this paper had much connec- 
tion with the public interests, and did more than any 



292 Personal Memories. 

other to promote the literary taste and talent of Cin- 
cinnati, I shall take some notice of its history and 
character. The Chronicle was founded in the year 
1826. The Chronicle was published by the Messrs. 
Buxton, and edited at that time by Benjamin Drake, 
Esq. Mr. Drake was a gentleman of ability and liter- 
ary taste. As a writer Mr. Drake did much for the 
public advantage and something for his own permanent 
reputation. In connection with myself he compiled 
Cincinnati in 1826. He wrote articles for the Western 
Monthly Magazine, the Southern Literary Messenger, and 
other periodicals. Besides these he wrote the " Tales 
of the Queen City" " Life of Black Hawk" and the 
"Life of Tecumseh." He was thus one of the earliest 
pioneer authors in Cincinnati. The Chronicle, in the 
next twenty years, passed through many transmuta- 
tions, having at one time ceased to exist in name, 
though not in substance. In 1834, it ceased as The 
Chronicle, and was amalgamated with a literary peri- 
odical called The Cincinnati Mirror. In 1836, Dr*. 
Drake and Rives, of the medical department of 
Cincinnati College purchased the "Mirror" of "Flash 
and Ryder," and re-established 7 he Chronicle on its 
subscription list. They got a journeyman printer who 
knew nothing about publishing to print, and I, who 
was professor of history and law, to edit it. Both of 
us were equally ignorant of the modern art of getting 
up newspapers, and especially of the notable plan of 
printing the paper to puff ourselves. I doubt whether 
we ever mentioned ourselves, and we were- in great 
fear when we mentioned the college, lest we should 
have the appearance of self-conceit. Happily, editors 
and publishers nowadays have got rid of this very 



Personal Memories. 203 



imprudent modesty, and the generation of to-day is 
wiser than the generation which preceded »it. The 
result of such a newspaper speculation, undertaken 
without any knowledge of the business, was the same 
as that of all similar undertakings. The Mirror had 
nominally two thousand subscribers, but at the end of 
six months, not one-fourth of them was left, and not 
one-half paid their subscriptions. The medical gentle- 
men became heartily tired, and sold the paper to Messrs. 
Pugh and Dodd — the former a member of the Society 
of Friends, and the latter a printer, who afterward 
became a well-known hatter. I remained editor, as- 
sisted by Mr. Drake, who was now a practicing mem- 
ber of the bar. In this new era of the Chronicle, we 
found ourselves with a new and unexpected embar- 
rassment. It was the era of Abolition mobs. Just 
prior to this time, Dr. Bailey, afterward editor of the 
National Era at Washington, published an Abolition 
paper, of which Mr. Pugh was the printer. An anti- 
Abolition mob, composed chiefly of the most respect- 
able young men, had torn down Bailey's press, thrown 
it into the Ohio river, and demolished the materials. 
The press was owned by Mr. Pugh, the printer, and 
now that the Chronicle had passed into his hands, the 
populace looked upon us with suspicion, and were 
disposed to visit us with a portion of their wrath. 
This made no difference with our course, but retarded 
the support and growth of the paper. It looks very 
strange now, in the great change which the public 
mind and nation have undergone, but it is true that 
the freedom of the press was in actual danger from 
the overawing influence of mobs. These mobs were 
instigated by men who believed that society was 



294 Personal Memories. 



founded only upon trade, and like Demetrius, the sil- 
versmith, thought their craft was in danger, when the 
worship of the goddess Diana was abridged. The 
Diana of that day was slavery. The Cincinnati 
Chronicle was thoroughly anti-slavery, but not Abo- 
litionist, so called. It was a AVhig paper throughout 
its whole career, having the confidence and support 
of the most influential people in the city. It never 
hesitated to criticise and expose the conduct of the 
slaveholders or the political laws which maintained 
them, but did not think it necessary to establish a 
separate party for that purpose. In the meantime 
the Chronicle grew slowly, and managed by hard work 
to maintain itself. In December, 1839, it became a 
daily paper, having obtained the subscription list of 
the Whig, founded by Major Conover, and then edited 
by Henry E. Spencer, Esq. The subscription list of 
both papers was small. The newspaper publishers of 
this day who inform the public (which the public very 
courteously believe) that they commenced with thou- 
sands and progressed "with tens of -thousands of sub- 
scribers, will doubtless be astonished to learn that we 
commenced the Daily Chronicle with two hundred 
and fifty and terminated the year with six hundred 
of what the world calls patrons. Mr. Pugh, the pro- 
prietor, and myself had a hard contest with the world 
against two prevalent ideas. One was slavery, and 
the other was liquor. We were utterly opposed to 
slavery in the day when two-thirds of the community 
were for it, and two-thirds of the remainder compro- 
mised with it. We both lived to see its entire de- 
struction in this land of the free, as it is called, 
free in fact, standing out before the world the only 
successful republic. We both ut.erly opposed the 



Personal Memories. 295 

' liquor trade and the dram-shops. Pugh would not 
allow a single advertisement of any place where liquor 
was sold or drank. The consequence was a great loss 
of business from the liquor sellers and their friends. 
But in all other respects the Chronicle was popular 
and prosperous. We were warm Whigs — the friends 
and advocates of morals, religion, science, and liter- 
ature. I think the first "Price Current " in Cincin- 
nati was published in our office by Mr. Peabody, and 
Mr. Richard Smith beffan his lon«; and honorable ca- 
reer as a newspaper man in our office. He soon after 
published the Price Current of the Merchants' Ex- 
change, and became superintendent of that institution. 
This was a good practical education for the part he 
has so long held in the Gazette. At the same time 
Mr. Boardman, who has so long conducted the High- 
land News, was a printer in the office, and several 
other publishers of newspapers graduated from it. 

The Chronicle had an able and brilliant corps of con- 
tributors, as the reader will readily see wh^n I men- 
tion their names. Mrs. Stowe, then Miss Harriet 
Beecher, published her first stories in it; Mr. (now 
Dr) Blackwell wrote for it; so did James II. Per- 
kins, Mrs. Sigourney, Mrs. Douglas, of Chillicothe, 
Mary De Forest, Lewis J. Cist, and several others 
who have since been well known. As a paper, the 
Chronicle was a success, but it became involved in pe- 
cuniary troubles, and was at length merged in the 
Atlas, a paper begun by Nathan Guilford, and, after 
three or four years' existence, died. To edit the 
Chronicle was to me a pleasant business. It continued 
about fifteen years, and I look back upon my part in 
that paper as alike useful to the public and honorable 
to mvself. 



296 Personal Memories. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Southern Railroad — My Article and Speech — Public 
Meeting in Cincinnati — Drake — J. S. Williams — 
Judge Hall — General Harrison — Knoxville Conven- 
tion — Ohio Delegates — Scenery on the Tennessee River 
— Cincinnati Mob — Court-house Meeting — Commer- 
cial Crisis of 1837 — First Observatory at Ludlow Sta- 
tion — Mitchell's Observatory. 

The history of the Southern Railroad — a work 
which has recently excited much attention, and is still 
engaging the public mind — is curious and instructive. 
It is now more than forty years since the idea of such 
a work was formed and advocated, and yet while 
other works of far less importance have been con- 
structed in various parts of the country, this great 
work remained unfinished. It is now time to give its 
history, that whatever of merit or demerit there may 
be in it may be traced to the originators. 

Up to the year 1825, the only idea of great internal 
improvement in the West was that of canals. In that 
year, however (1825), the Liverpool and Manchester 
Railroad was completed, and a new and extraordinary 
era in locomotion began, which has revolutionized the 
modes of carriage, and given a new impulse to all the 
modes of commerce. In America, the new idea was 
taken up with zeal, and the construction of railroads 
began. Among the earliest of these were those at- 
tempting to pierce the Alleghany Mountains, and 



Personal Memories. 297 



connect the cities of the Atlantic with those of the 
valley of the Ohio. Their progress, however, was 
slow. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which was 
commenced in 1828, was only completed in 1853 — a 
period of twenty-five years. The New York and Erie 
Railroad was begun in 1885, but only completed in 
1852 — seventeen years. In 1832-1833, the legislatures 
of Ohio and Indiana granted several charters for rail- 
roads, many of which have since been made. I be- 
came interested in this new mode of commercial enter- 
prise, and in August, 1836, published in the Western 
Monthly Magazine, then edited by Judge Hall, an 
article advocating: a railroad from Cincinnati to the 
South. My idea was to take the route to Knoxville, 
Tennessee, and thence by a road through Tennessee 
and Alabama to Mobile. That article was written 
before, but not published until after the first meeting 
held in Cincinnati on that subject. A meeting had 
been held at Paris, Kentucky, to take steps toward 
constructing a railroad from Cincinnati to that fertile 
region ; but the plan of a railroad to the South At- 
lantic was first puplicly proposed at a meeting held in 
Cincinnati, and suggested by Dr. Daniel Drake. This 
meeting w r as held at the Commercial Exchange, Front 
street, in the summer of 1835, for the purpose of pro- 
moting the railroad to Paris, Kentucky. "When the 
proceedings relative to that subject were concluded, 
Dr. Drake offered a resolution, which was unanimously 
adopted, to inquire into the advantage and practicabil- 
ity 'of a railroad to South Carolina. A committee of 
three was appointed, to report at a subsequent meet- 
ing. This committee consisted of Dr. Daniel Drake, 
Thomas W. Bakewell, and John S. Williams. This 



298 Personal Memories. 

meeting, and the resolutions, were the initial steps in 
the plan of constructing' the great railway between 
Cincinnati and Charleston, which is now being com- 
pleted. The adjourned meeting of citizens was held 
at the Exchange, on the 15th of August,- 1835, when 
Dr. Drake read an elaborate and argumentative report, 
placing the whole subject in a clear and conclusive 
light. His report was followed by speeches from Mr. 
John S. Williams and myself. I traced more in de- 
tail the route through Knoxville to Charleston. The 
proceedings, report, and speeches were ordered to be 
published, and I prepared a pamphlet, accompanied by 
a map entitled " Railroad from the banks of the Ohio 
river to the ti de waters of the Carolinas and Georgia." A 
standing committee of inquiry and correspondence was 
apppointed by the meeting. That committee consisted 
of Gen. Yvllliam Henry Harrison, Judge James Hall, 
Dr. Daniel Drake, Edward D. Mansfield, Esq., Gex. 
. James Taylor, of Newport, Kentucky, Dr. John W. 

King, of Covington, Kentucky, and George A. Dunn, 
Esq., of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. I mention this com- 
mittee particularly, because they did much to excite a 
zeal in this cause, both North and South, and diffused 
information concerning both sections through these 
wide and far separated regions of country. Being ap- 
pointed secretary of the committee, I know that an 
extensive correspondence passed through their hands, 
and that the}' did no small amount of service in devel- 
oping the knowledge of our resources, and awaking 
that zeal for public works which has ever since pre- 
vailed. It is well known with how much zeal and 
earnestness the citizens of Charleston, Savannah, and 
Augusta, and the states of South Carolina and Georgia 



Personal Memories. 299 



adopted this scheme, and with what energy they car- 
ried it out. The great system of railways which now 
exists in those states had chiefly for its basis the con- 
struction of that great work, which should connect 
them with the great Valley of the Ohio. It is now 
forty-three years since this plan was conceived, and the 
public mind interested in the subject, and yet the South- 
ern road is only now drawing toward completion. I was 
repeatedly asked if I thought this work was possible, 
and when it might be done. I uniformly replied that 
it was not only possible, but certain, and a necessity to 
the country. In 18^3) a great Southwestern conven- 
tion was called and held at Knoxville on this subject, 
in which were delegates from nine states, to wit : Ohio, 
Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. There 
was intense excitement in the country on this subject, 
and the convention was a numerous and able body. 
The delegates who attended from this region were 
Gov. Vance, Dr. Drake, Alexander McGrew, Crafts 
J. Wright, and myself, from Ohio ; Gen. James Tay- 
lor, M. M. Benton, and J. G. Arnold, from Newport 
and Covington. The debates and proceedings of the 
convention at Knoxville were quite exciting and very 
interesting. The only serious controversy at that time 
was in regard to the termini at the South and at the 
Ohio river. The South Carolina and Georgia delega- 
tions each claimed, with great pertinacity, that they 
had the best route. But time has settled all these 
things. Each of these states, as well as Alabama and 
Tennessee, have completed their lines of railroad, so 
that they all concentrate at Chattanooga, on the Ten- 
nessee. Hence, when the city of Cincinnati deter- 



800 Personal Memories. 

mined the terminus of the Southern Railroad in the 

South, Chattanooga was preferred to Knoxville. 

I must now return to my interesting journey through 
the South, with the condition and appearance of things 
in the South at that time. Six of us, including Gov. 
Vance and Gen. Taylor, left Cincinnati in a stage, 
passing through Lexington, Lancaster, and Crab 
Orchard, on what was called the Ridge road. We 
crossed the Cumberland river at Cumberland Ford, and 
Cumberland Mountain at Cumberland Gap. Nearly 
the whole of the country, except in the Blue Grass 
Region around Lexington, was thinly settled, and 
showed no signs of improvement. At Cumberland 
Ford I was struck by seeing coal banks of great thick- 
ness, but I soon found that this was nothing uncom- 
mon, for we were now in that great coal district which 
extends southeasterly from Trumbull county, Ohio, to 
Central Alabama, on the western slope of the Appala- 
chian Mountains. We passed through Cumberland Gap, 
and then over Clinch Mountain ; crossing the Clinch and 
Powell rivers, and arri vi ng at Bean's Station, forty miles 
east of Knoxville. This was quite a noted place, be- 
ing the night stopping place for the great stage line 
which passed through the valley of Virginia to the 
South. The change which has sines taken place will 
be seen in the simple fact that this very route is now 
taken by the Great Southwestern Railroad Line which 
runs from Richmond, Virginia, to Mobile, Alabama. 
At Bean's Station, where we lodged at night, we found 
ourselves in a quandary. The stages on the Virginia 
line arrived, crowded with passengers, and could not 
take us to Knoxville. What was to be done ? Some 
enterprising person in the party found that we could 



Personal Memories. 301 



hire a six-horse wagon to take us into Knoxvillc, so, 
next morning, we embarked in the wagon with our 
trunks and valises on the floor with plenty of straw. 
"We had fine horses, with a Tennessee driver more than 
six feet tall, with a red shirt. AVe talked and sang, 
told anecdotes, and looked with surprise on what has 
been called " The Switzerland of the South." Arrived 
at Knoxvillc, Dr. Drake, two or three others, and my- 
self, were received into the house of a private gentle- 
man, and hospitably entertained. That night we had 
a splendid exhibition of natural phenomena, in a vio- 
lent thunder-storm. The vivid lightning lit up the 
hills and valley of the llolston, which were again 
plunged in utter darkness. After the convention, the 
party separated. Dr. Drake and myself took the stage 
to Kingston, on the Tennessee, abont forty miles be- 
low Knoxville, where we found a small, new steamer 
ready to descend the river. We took passage in her, 
with two or three other passengers, and had a novel 
and delightful trip to Alabama. 

I seldom see any notices of this region and its 
scenery, although the war has revealed to the country 
the immediate section round Chattanooga, I will, 
therefore, describe the Tennessee from Kingston to 
Triana, where we landed. What is now Chattanooga 
was then Ross' Landing of the Cherokees, who then 
occupied Northern Georgia. Ross was a chief of the 
tribe, as, I believe, his son is now. The Tennessee, 
for a hundred miles below Knoxville, passed through a 
mountain country, and in some places has forced its 
way through the mountains. Below Chattanooga, is 
Lookout Mountain, where Hooker fought his battle 
above the clouds. The river winds its way round the 



302 Personal Memories. 

base of Lookout. On the opposite side, and below, 
are Walden and Raccoon Mountains. After passing 
the base of Lookout, about ten miles below the Ten- 
nessee seems to break through Raccoon Mountain, not 
unlike the Shenandoah at -Harper's Ferry, or the 
Hudson at West Point. The stream here is rapidly 
compressed to seventy yards in width, and whirlpools 
are formed over the rocks below. This passage is 
called " The Suck of the Tennessee," and has always 
been regarded as a remarkable place. 

It seemed as though there were no room for our little 
steamer to pass, but by skillful pilotage we glided 
through. Marvelous stories were told of " the suck" 
in early times. It was said that the water was so 
compressed that it would bear an ax. A few miles be- 
low this we passed out of the mountain scenery. Jef- 
ferson said that it was worth a voyage from Europe to 
see the passage of the Shenandoah, and if so, it is 
worth a great deal more to see the " Suck of the Ten- 
nessee." I have visited the most celebrated scenes in 
our country, and I think that the mountain scenery of 
Tennessee is fully equal to any other. Below "the 
suck " the river broadens and passes into a more level 
country. The horizontal limestone stratum begins to 
appear and is worn away at the base by the river, 
leaving little caverns, while the bank above is sur- 
mounted by foliage and flowers. This formation con- 
tinues for a great distance, but when we reached Ala- 
bama, rock cliffs began to appear, which in some cases 
were colored red by the drippings of iron ore and pre- 
sented a variegated appearance. , Soon after this we 
got into the cotton country, and landed at Triana, 
whence we proceeded to Huntsville. It was then a 



Personal Memories. 303 



small place, but in a very beautiful country, inhabited 
by pleasant. and hospitable people. Here we remained 
two or three days, and the season being July, we 
visited the summer resort of the Iluntsville gentle- 
men, Montesano. This is a high ridge, with a bluff 
termination, being apparently the southern terminus 
of the Alleghany Mountains. I had passed the Allc- 
ghanies in many places of their eastern range, and now 
stood on the southern end, where the mountains 
seemed to say : " I will go no farther, but rest in the 
contemplation of this beautiful country." 

Here the gentlemen of Iluntsville had built on the 
summit log houses, and enjoyed, in the midst of sum- 
mer, cool air. 

From Huntsville, we went by stage through Nash- 
ville and Lexington to Cincinnati. Arrived there, I was 
astonished to find a new form of modern civilization, 
and a new way to please the southern people. While 
we were at Knoxville, trying to secure the Union by 
links of iron, some of the young men of Cincinnati 
had made a mob, and, as I have before stated, tore down 
the abolition press of Dr. Bailey and thrown it into the 
Ohio. On this, the leading people of Cincinnati found 
themselves in a predicament. A mob was certainly 
not a way to recommend the community, and yet to 
tolerate abolition was not the way to please the South. 
So a great public meeting was held at Lower Market, 
just before we returned. The result of the meeting, 
however, was really nothing, the party of order not 
being able fully to denounce the mob, and the mob not 
being willing to defend themselves, so nothing was 
done. Soon after my return, Mr. Hammond, Mr. 
Chase, a few others, and myself, determined to hold a 



304 Personal Memories. 

public meeting to vindicate our own opinions. We 
therefore called an afternoon meeting at the court- 
house. The affair was a curious one. 

We did not expect to announce opinions for the 
whole city, but to give our own view of the subject. 
We did not, therefore, expect any interruption or 
opposition. What, therefore, was our surprise to find 
the court-house crowded, and among the crowd, the 
leading men of the city. We saw at once, that we 
were checkmated, and that like the market-house 
meeting, the result would be a neutral compound. A 
large committee was appointed to propose resolutions. 
I was upon that committee, and as I was almost alone 
in my views, I agreed to bring in a single resolution, 
condemning mobs in general terms, and the meeting 
passed oil' in an amiable mood. Since then I have 
thought that I wanted moral courage in that meeting. 
After the experience of forty years, I think the true 
plan would have been to have made a minority report, 
expressing fully my opposition to the pro-slavery 
movements of the day. This would have raised a 
storm, but it would have made discussion, and brought 
people to a full consideration of the subject. After events 
showed that there was no possibility of compromise, 
and we had at last to do what we should have done at 
first — to take an uncompromising stand against slav- 
ery ; but Providence vindicated its own ways, as the 
history of subsequent events has shown. For the free 
states could not and would not conquer slavery in 1836 
as they did in 18G0-1865. 

In the following year, 1837, Jackson's schemes of 
finance reached their climax, in the worst and most 
complete commercial convulsion which has ever been 



Personal 31emories. 305 

experienced in this country. We have already noticed 
his attack upon and overthrow of the United States 
Bank, but since the business of the government must 
be conducted through financial agents of some kind, 
he was obliged to find a substitute for the national 
banks. This he did in the state banks. lie encouraged 
them to increase their loans; the natural consequence 
followed — state banks and corporate banks were mul- 
tiplied ; they had the government deposits, and they 
were on the high tide of prosperity, apparently. Specu- 
lation was rife in all departments of business. Soon 
after this, Jackson issued his specie circular, which 
required the receivers of land offices, at a time when 
the sales of public lands were great, to receive pay- 
ment only in specie or its equivalent. The banks were 
then inflated to their utmost extent, and the effect of 
this circular was to alarm and endanger them. In the 
meantime there came another danger. In 1832, Clay 
and Calhoun, to avert the effects of nullification, made 
the compromise tariff. 

The tariff was to be gradually reduced until it 
reached an average of twenty per cent. The process 
of reduction was going on from 1832 to 1837. The 
immediate result of this was to increase our imports 
of foreign goods, so that by 1837 the balance of trade 
had become greatly against us. Thus, the reader can 
see that the reduction of the tariff on one hand, and 
Jackson's experiment in finance on the other, had, 
brought to the country such a crisis that it was impos- 
sible to avoid commercial disaster. It came and 
brought ruin to thousands. It was of the same nature 
and brought on by almost the same causes as the great 
commercial convulsion of 1819-1822. At that time, 



306 Personal Memories. 

1819, Cincinnati was almost sold out to its creditors, 
but now, although hundreds were bankrupt, the city 
w;is in a better condition to bear it, and after a short 
time continued to prosper. The effect of the convul- 
sion of 1837 continued until 1842, whan a protective 
tariff revived the industry of the country, and placed 
its commercial interests upon a more solid foundation. 
The commercial convulsion of 1837 and 1839 operated 
upon the country like violent medicine upon the indi- 
vidual. It gave pain and suffering, but it cleansed and 
purified the commercial system, so that when its revi- 
val came it was restored to greater strength and ac- 
tivity. The tariff being reduced to its minimum, 
foreign goods had overflowed the country, and the in- 
debtedness to Europe caused a suspension of the banks, 
and almost a suspension of commercial credit. In this 
situation, necessity compelled the nation to adopt, as 
we have said, a protective tariff. All theories had to 
give way to practical experience. Under the new tar- 
iff, the business of the country rapidly revived. Not- 
withstanding the Democrats, in 1846, remodeled the 
tariff, they never reduced it to anything like its former 
low point. The tariff of 1846 was a horizontal tariff: 
that is, specific duties were abolished, almost all arti- 
cles were placed in three or four great classes. The 
duties on nearly all articles which came in competition 
with American manufacturers, were respectively 25, 
30, and 35 per cent. These were apparently sufficient, 
but, nevertheless, foreign manufactures, especially 
English, continued to be imported in large quantities. 
For the next twenty years, until the close of the late 
war, the contest between foreign and American manu- 
factures, continued with doubtful results. The war 



Personal Memories. 307 

tariff of 1862 gave a final blow to foreign competition, 
and now the industry of America is triumphant at 
home, and promises to gain an ascendency throughout 
the world. 

In the meantime, just after the convulsion of 1837, 
gay up to 1848, the growth of Cincinnati continued 
with great rapidity. Strange as it may seem, the com- 
mercial depression, and the want of money did not 
impede building, on the contrary, it aided Cincinnati. 

Many emigrants from New York and Eastern cit- 
ies came to Cincinnati to begin a new career, where 
they could live on less means and have an equal 
chance in the future. The prices of provisions and 
all articles for housekeeping had fallen very much, 
and it seemed like a return to primitive times. In 
this condition of things, the new emigrants required 
many houses, and the mechanics and lot-holders man- 
aged to build thousands of houses in three or four 
years, almost without money. Much of it was actu- 
ally done by barter, the land-owners, the hardware 
men, the lumber men, mechanics, and grocers inter- 
trading with each other, so that much less money was 
required. For several years the city grew rapidly. 
But when the general prosperity of the country 
seemed to be greater, the growth of Cincinnati was 
actually less, as the reader may verify by referring to 
the census returns. 

Although not exactly in the order of time, I will 
here relate the history of the Cincinnati Observatory, 
because connected with something which occurred 
many years before, and also with the progress of sci- 
ence in this country. I have already related the ap- 
pointment of my father as Surveyor-General of the 



308 Personal Memories. 

United States, and the object of that appointment, 
which was to establish meridian lines as the basis of 
public services. This could not be done except by a 
man of science, with suitable astronomical instru- 
ments. Thus it happened that the first real observa- 
tory in the United States was established in my father's 
house at Ludlow Station. The history of it was this : 
My father informed Mr. Jefferson that the meridian 
line could not be run without certain astronomical in- 
struments, and that these instruments could not be had 
in the United States. Mr. Jefferson said that congress 
had made no appropriation for that object, but that 
he (the President) had a contingent fund out of which 
he would procure these instruments. Mr. Gallatin, 
then secretary of the treasury, wrote to Troughton, 
mathematical instrument maker, London, for the fol- 
lowingly instruments : First, a three-foot long reflect- 
ing telescope, mounted in the best manner, with lever 
motion; secondly, a thirty-inch portable transit in- 
strument, which answered the purpose of an equal 
altitude instrument and theodolite; thirdly, an astro- 
nomical pendulum clock; fourthly, several astronom- 
ical books. These instruments and books cost §1,054, 
but would cost four times that now, for they were 
very excellent of their kind. They were ordered as 
early as 1803, but did not arrive until the autumn of 
1806, and were set up at Ludlow Station in the spring 
of 1806. They were used in making a great number 
of astronomical observations and calculations not 
within the duties of the present surveyor-general, but 
then desired and ordered by the government. 

Among other things, he observed and calculated 
the orbit of the great comet in 1807. This calculation 



Personal Memories. 309 

was published in the memoirs of the Connecticut 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, lie was directed by 
the government to ascertain the latitude and longitude 
of various places; and thus the United States sur- 
veys became the means of advancing astronomical 
science in this country. The instruments used have 
since been deposited in the philosophical department 
of the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, where they remain as memorials of the first 
observatory in the United States. In connection with 
this, I must mention the erection of the first Cincin- 
nati Observatory. This was solely the creation of 
Ormsby M. Mitchell, who, having been a professor of 
mathematics and astronomy, and an active teacher, 
formed the idea of erecting an observatory on Mount 
Adams. He had a very superior mind, and was fre- 
quently thinking of various projects. He became en- 
thusiastic about an observatory, and without any 
means save his own exertions, proceeded to work up 
that project. lie talked and lectured until he got 
many people interested in it. He got the late Nich- 
olas Longworth to grant him a site for a building on 
Mount Adams, and then got subscriptions for the 
building, The shares were at first $25 each, but the 
project was popular, and he finally obtained the 
means to buy the great telescope and erect the build- 
ing. He went over to Europe to purchase the tele- 
scope. When there he found that the best makers of 
astronomical instruments were at the Franenbofer In- 
stitute, Munich. It was made by Messrs. Mertz & 
Mayer, and co.-t nearly $10,000. It was at that time 
the largest telescope in America — its focal length be- 
ins: 17J feet, and the diameter of the object-classes 12 



310 Personal Memories. 

inches. In the meanwhile Mitchell had the observa- 
tory building erected on the site given by Mr. Long- 
worth. This whole work, of which Mitchell was the 
director and originator, was probably the first and 
only purely scientific enterprise literally carried out 
by the people. 

When it was finished Mitchell determined to have 
a popular inauguration. To do this, he invited John 
Quincy Adams to pronounce an oration. He accepted 
the invitation, came to Cincinnati, and delivered a 
splendid discourse, of which only such a man was 
capable. An immense crowd and procession attended 
the inauguration, and it is, perhaps, the only instance 
in the world in which an observatory or any merely 
scientific work was made the occasion of a popular 
celebration. When the work was completed Mitchell 
resided there with his family, and for several years 
continued to make astronomical observations. In the 
meantime he invented two instruments to record the 
observations of right ascension and the difference in 
declination. Thej 7 were very ingenious, and furnished 
observations of accuracy never attainable from any 
previous instruments. 

Alas for Mitchell ! lie was one of those whom I have 
never ceased to regret. He was a man of genius and 
a man of worth. He was one of the earliest volun- 
teers for the Union, and among the most successful 
officers, until he fell a victim to disease, at Beaufort, 
South Carolina. He was killed by that civil war, 
whose real authors have never been hanged, although, 
in all the records of time, there was never a criminal 
who more deserved to be. 



Personal Memories. 311 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Political Campaign of 1840— Van Buren — Washington 
Scandal — Break between Calhoun and Jackson — Van 
Buren's Success — domination of Harrison — Log Cab- 
ins and Hard Cider — Glee Songs — Defeat of Van 
Buren — Salt River — Lamented ions. 

I shall now give my memories of the political 
campaign of 1840. Its results have entered into his- 
tory ; but not so the thousand incidents and singular 
scenes in that remarkable conflict. Asa purely civil and 
political movement, it has no parallel in my memory, 
and was characteristic of what a free people, governed 
by law, can do without imperiling law or committing 
violence. It was at once amusing and serious, trifling 
and important. It was a whole nation enacting what 
was a comedy, but might have been a tragedy. It was 
not a conflict of great principles, snch as resulted in 
the Missouri Compromise, nullification, secession, or a 
foreign war. It was really a conflict about the ma- 
terial interests of the people — in fact, about their 
pockets. The causes of this contest I have partly re- 
lated in the account of the overthrow of the United 
States Bank, and the ultimate suspension of the state 
banks. But they can not be fully understood without 
going a little more into detail. I have narrated the 
overthrow of the United States Bank by Jackson : the 
encouragement given to the states banks to loan freely ; 
the reduction of the tariff to a minimum of twenty 



312 Personal Memories. 



per cent. ; the issuing of the specie circular, and the 
final suspension of all the banks, and the ruin of 
thousands of merchants. 

Such was the state of things when, in March, 1837, 
Martin Van Buren became President of the United 
States. How he came to be so, and what he did, are 
important elements in the history of those times. Van 
Buren was, in brief, a sequel of Jacksonism, without 
the power to direct the storm which Jackson had 
raised. Jackson had sown to the wind, and Van 
Buren reaped the whirlwind. He was a New York 
politician, bred in the most corrupt school of politics 
which this country has ever known — a school which 
still continues its corrupt practices in that state, and 
whose last disciple and leader is Samuel J. Tilden, 
Esq. Mr. Van Buren was a man of respectability, of 
decided talents, and of good character. Yet his po- 
litical career had neither dignity, respectability, nor 
virtue — I mean public virtue, for he had no private 
vices, and was deemed an estimable man. Let us, 
then, observe him from a public point ot view. "He was 
one of Jackson's chief supporters, and founders of the 
present Democratic party. In the conflicts of that day 
there was a social as well as a political conflict. It 
arose about Mrs. Eaton, wile of Secretary Eaton, 
Jackson's intimate friend, for reasons unnecessary to 
mention, and of no public interest at the present day. 
Mrs. Eaton was ostracised by the leading ladies of 
"Washington, among whom were the wives of the 
Southern members of the cabinet. Mrs. Calhoun, 
Mrs. Berrien, and Mrs. Branch refused to call upon 
Mrs. Eaton. Eaton, of course, felt injured, and Jack- 
son took his part. Van Buren sided with Jackson, 



Personal Memories. 813 

partly, no doubt, because he was then a widower, and 
had no troubles of that sort. Jackson made it a per- 
sonal matter with all of Eaton's opponents, and the 
result was a break up of the cabinet, the alienation of 
Calhoun, and the acceptance of Van Buren as the 
leader of the Jackson (then calling itself the Demo- 
cratic) party. 

In the meantime, there was a little political episode 
which ought to go into history. The reader, no doubt, 
remembers when Jackson, in the administration of 
Monroe, marched into Florida, and captured two men, 
named Arbuthnot and Ambrister, who, for some rea- 
son, either as spies or traitors, he executed. This was, 
doubtless, contrary to law, and his conduct was in- 
quired into by congress. The administration, how- 
ever, wished to defend its own commander, and in 
some way Jackson escaped punishment or reproach. 
The consultations which led to this result were held 
by the cabinet, of which Adams, Crawford, and Cal- 
houn were members. In some way, probably by false 
information from the enemies of Adams, Jackson was 
firmly impressed with the idea that Calhoun was his 
friend and supporter in the cabinet, and that Adams 
and Crawford were opposed to him. In the end, and 
about the time of the Eaton trouble, it turned out, 
through some letter from Crawford, that Jackson's 
impressions were all wrong — that Adams had been 
his firm supporter, and Calhoun his opponent. Jack- 
son became indignant, and looked upon Calhoun as a 
| political intriguer and his own enemy. I state this 
to show the state of feeling among the public men in 
Washington at that time. It shows how completely 
Jackson had made the government a personal matter. 



o 



14 Personal Me?nories. 



He put men out and in, quarreled with or supported 
them, for causes measured by bis own feelings and 
interests. The government was as completely per- 
sonal at that time as was the government of George 
the Third. So devoted were his friends, and sc 
anxious the great body of politicians who formed the 
new Democratic party, to obtain power and patron- 
age, that he was upheld in all his personal measures 
and his administration maintained. But his successor 
without his courage and daring, fell under the weigh \ 
of popular indignation. The Eaton affair soon blew 
over. It was only a " tempest in a tea-pot." Berrier 
and Brancli resigned; new followers of Jackson wen 
appointed to their places ; and the star of Van Burer 
became ascendant. Of course, Calhoun and his friends 
were opponents of Van Buren, but their efforts tc 
stem the tide were unavailing. About this time, Vai 
Buren was appointed minister to England. Whei 
the question of confirmation came up, the Whigs ant 
the followers of Calhoun held a majority of the senate 
and the appointment of Van Buren was rejected 
There is no doubt but that this action was unwise anc 
indiscreet, for Van Buren was entirely tit for the ap 
pointment — being a gentleman, and rich enough t( 
perform the duties with dignity. This false action 
turning wholly on personal feelings, led to conse 
quences which, perhaps, would not otherwise hav< 
occurred. Van Buren was made president, and hii 
party afterward signally defeated. Two months afte 
the inauguration of Van Buren as president, even 
bank in the country had suspended, thousands of mer 
chants failed, and the country was in a state of unex 
ampled commercial distress. When congress assem 



Personal Memories. 815 



bled, this was the sole topic of public consideration. 
The president, of course, had to make it the subject 
of his message. He stated the causes of this distress 
very fairly — that it was overtrading (which I have 
hitherto stated was caused by the reduction of the 
tariff and the over-loaning of the banks), the inflation 
of the banks, and the demand of specie for the gov- 
ernment deposits. His remedy for this was an inde- 
pendent treasury. To understand this the reader will 
remember that the government deposits, which are 
always large, had been put in the United States Bank, 
until Jackson destroyed that bank by his war upon 
it ; and that then he directed the deposits to be placed 
in the state incorporate banks; and that at the same 
time he recommended those bankers to accommodate 
the people with loans. This commercial catastrophe 
occurred, as we have seen, at the begiuning of Van 
Buren's administration. To avoid the evils dependent 
upon the public deposits being placed in banks, Van 
Buren recommended the independent treasury, or as 
his opponents called it, the sub-treasury. The reader 
will observe that, in theory, all the moneys of the 
United States are supposed to be in the hands of the 
United States Treasurer, but, as I have said, they were 
really deposited in banks. The independent treasury, 
as proposed by Van Buren, was to consist in keeping 
the moneys by the treasurer, assistant-treasurer, and 
certain public officers, who, for this purpose, were 
provided with safes and other conveniences necessary 
for keeping money. In other words, the independent 
treasury meant to sever the treasury of the United 
States from all banks or other moneyed institutions, 
and put the United States money literally in its own 



316 Personal 3Iemories. 

treasury. This scheme was at first violently opposed 
not only by the Whig party, but by many Democrats 
The consequence was that when first proposed to con- 
gress it was rejected, but at a subsequent congress wan 
passed. In the meanwhile it became evident that the 
power of the Democratic party was broken. The 
votes in congress on the sub-treasury, and the loca. 
elections throughout the country, showed this con- 
clusively. The great State of New York, under the 
able and shrewd management of William II. Sewarc 
and Thuflow Weed, aided by the Anti-Masonic ex- 
citement, had been carried by the Whigs, and politi- 
cally revolutionized. For nearly thirty years it hac 
been controled by Martin Van Buren and his able col- 
leagues, who were called the Albany Regency. Se- 
ward had become governor, and the star of Van Burer 
had set for ever. The State of Tennessee, also, whicl 
seemed to belong to Jackson, had broken from it; 
moorings, and throughout the country there was i 
state of excitement and indignation which augurec 
the defeat of the Democratic party. Such was the 
real state of the nation in the administration of Vai 
Buren, and the preparation for the political campaigr 
of 1840. 

The Democrats, of course, renominated Mr. Vai 
Buren. The Whigs had before them three candidate: 
for nomination. These were Mr. Clay, General liar 
rison, and General Scott. Under ordinary circum 
stances Mr. Clay would have been nominated, but be 
fore the Whig: Convention met it became manifes 
that General Harrison had great popularity. In tin 
previous election of 1836 he carried some states, sucl 
as Indiana, which Mr. Clay could not carry. Then 



Personal Memories. 317 



was among many people the same fervor and enthu- 
siasm for his military character which had been man- 
ifested for Jackson. Among politicians Mr. Clay was 
far the strongest, for he was, in fact, the leader of the 
Whig party, and supported by many friends with 
great ardor. General Scott had also a good many 
friends. But when the convention met the popular 
feeling for General Harrison was so strong that he 
was nominated, to the great regret, and almost grief, 
of Mr. Clay's ardent supporters. It afterward turned 
out that Mr. Clay could have been elected as easily as 
General Harrison, for the country was in such condi- 
tion that it recpiired and must have a change. Among 
the then Whig party of the South were many states 
rights men, who had adopted, more or less, the ideas 
of Mr. Calhoun. To conciliate these, and gain sup- 
port in the South, John Tyler, of Virginia, was nom- 
inated as Vice-President. This proved to be a great 
blunder; perhaps no greater mistake has occurred in 
the history of the country. Mr. Tyler's doctrines 
were those of the strict state rights school, and were 
well known. Between those doctrines and those of 
the Whig party there was an absolute antagonism. 
The Whi^s were for a National Bank, a strong tariff, 
and internal improvements for the welfare of the 
country. Mr. Tyler was opposed to all of these, and 
the fact was well known at the convention. Yet, in 
spite of this, the convention nominated Tyler, in the 
vain hope, as it afterward proved, of conciliating the 
faction which he represented. This blunder not only 
defeated the Whig party several years after, but had a 
most mischievous effect upon the whole country. After 
the nominations were made, the " war-cry " of the cam- 



318 Personal Memories. 

paign became " Tippecanoe and Tyler, too !" General 
Harrison had fought and won the victory over the In- 
dians at Tippecanoe, on the Wabash. The " Tyler, too," 
exactly expressed the fact that Tyler was a sort of af- 
fix — addendum — to the hero of Tippecanoe; nothing 
in himself, but a good deal when added to Harrison. 
" Tippecanoe and Tyler, too," became the chorus of 
every glee song, and was shouted through the hills 
and dales of this wide land. Among other incidents 
of this election, was ja, great paper ball, perhaps ten 
feet in diameter, on which was inscribed the names of 
states which, in the local elections of that year, had 
gone for the Whigs and Harrison. It was set going 
in some Eastern city, and is said to have been rolled 
through all the states of the Union. At all events, I 
saw that or a similar one in Broadway, Cincinnati, 
rolled through the city streets and on to the West. 
But the chief means of popular excitement were the 
glee clubs, which never before or since have been so 
effectually used. Songs were written specially for 
them of the most patriotic and exciting character. I 
recollect the first one I heard was from Chillicothe, 
led by a young man named Dufiield, who, with a fine 
voice, a good club of singers, and new songs and airs, 
made the air thrill with popular excitement. The 
first song I heard had this verse : 

" What has caused this great commotion-motion-motion 
All the country through? 
It is the ball a rolling on 
For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too! 
And with them we'll beat little Van — Van. 
Van's a used up man." 

This was suno; in the afternoon of a warm August 



Personal Memories. 319 



day, and I never knew anything of that sort so en- 
rage our political opponents, for they felt it was true. 
Harrison being a pioneer and a farmer at North 
Bend, was represented to the people as living in a log 
cabin — living on corn-meal, pork, and hard cider. 
The political processions were interlined with log 
cabins, coons, and hard cider, while the glee clubs ac- 
companying them shouted " Tippecanoe and Tyler, 
too." I seldom went to these political meetings ; but 
in September, 1840, I attended the great convention 
at Dayton — probably the greatest held in this coun- 
try. I and my friend set out from Cincinnati in a 
buggy, on one of the brightest of autumnal days. As 
we ascended Walnut Hills, on or way to Dayton, 
omnibusses, wagous,.and buggies were before and be- 
hind us, while bands of music were playing. The 
convention was to be held the next day, and at every 
cross-road we met new companies swelling the great 
throng to Dayton. I remember that at the present 
village of Mason, in Warren county, we met a long 
procession from Clermont county, with wagons, and 
canvas, and people on horseback. At Centerville, 
Montgomery county, we arrived at sunset, and, with 
many other people, accepted the hospitalities of the 
village. We found ourselves comfortably lodged in 
the house of a friend, and next morning at daylight 
proceeded to Dayton. The scene, just after sunrise, 
entering Dayton, was very beautiful. Our road was a 
descent from the east into the valley of the Miami, 
and the city of Dayton and its surroundings lay below 
us. Among other of the Whig devices, was to hang 
out the flag at their great conventions, and, as we 
looked down upon the city below in the bright sun- 



320 Personal Memories. 

light, Dayton was literally covered with flags. Every 
house seemed to have a flag, which waved in the 
breeze, while the bright sun shone upon it. 

It was a beautiful and an animated scene. When 
we had reached the city, breakfasted, and arrived at 
the' convention grounds, we were still more surprised. 
On the road from Urbana an immense procession was 
coming in. It was nearly all composed of wagons 
and men on horseback. It was said the procession 
numbered six thousand people, but that was probably 
exaggerated. In the midst of it was a great log cabin 
on wheels. On the top of the log cabin was a rac- 
coon, and at the door was General Charles W. An- 
thony, of Springfield, representing the Western pio- 
neer. Bands of music were playing. And thus 
procession after procession entered the convention 
grounds. The particular cause of this great assembly 
was that General Harrison was himself to speak. He 
did speak, but I, and I suppose thousands of others, 
could not hear him. While he was speaking I and 
Mr. Sam'l Forrer, who was a civil engineer, under- 
took to estimate the number of people on the ground. 
We were both competent, to do it, and did not mean 
to exaggerate. As nearly as we could estimate, there 
were full fifty thousand people in the field where 
General Harrison spoke. When we returned to Day- 
ton we found there were thousands of others in the 
streets who had not gone to the convention grounds 
at all. On the whole, I think there were sixty thou- 
sand people at the great meeting at Dayton, proba- 
bly the largest political assembly held in the United 
States. For two months longer the campaign, at 
least in the West, went on in the same style and with 



Personal Memories. 321 

the same excitement. Large processions, log cabins, 
hard cider, and Tippecanoe songs seemed to Mil the 
country. With all this popular excitement for Har- 
rison, and the active means employed, the Democratic 
party stood firm, and manifested an obstinacy as re- 
markable as it was creditable to the discipline of their 
organization. Few Democrats really changed their 
political opinions, but an immense vote was called 
out, which really determined the result. 

The vote at the presidential election was nearly a 
million of votes greater than that at the previous 
election. This showed the popular excitement, but 
did not show any great change of parties. For ex- 
ample, the State of Ohio, with all this effort, gave 
only twenty-three thousand majority for Harrison, 
who had received nine thousand at the previous elec- 
tion. The increase of majority was fourteen thou- 
sand, and half of that, seven thousand, were all the 
votes actually gained from the Democrats. At times 
I was really doubtful of the result, though sanguine 
in feeling. It is the custom of political parties to 
have a grand rally just previous to the election. 
These meetings are generally very large and interest- 
ing. I remember that two or three nights before the 
October election of 1840 (for the October elections de- 
termined the presidency), both parties were to have a 
grand rally, one — the Democrats — at the court-house, 
and the other — "Whigs — at the Fifth street market 
place. The Democrats rallied their forces at the pub- 
lic landing at the river, and marched from there to 
the court-house. I was sitting in my mother's, on 
Third street, near Broadway, when I heard huzzas 
and the heavy tramp of feet going up Broadway. 



322 Personal Memories. 

Not remembering the Democratic procession, I rushed 
out to see what was the matter. It was the Demo- 
cratic procession, marching by platoons to the court- 
house. The whole street seemed to be dark with 
them. Each man seemed to carry a club, which he 
struck against the ground, and hurraed for Van Buren. 
Many were Germans and many others Irish. "Hurra 
for Van Buren!" was constantly heard in deep gut- 
tural voices, which seemed to be earnest and deter- 
mined. I had never before seen so large a proces- 
sion moving in that wav, and felt alarmed for the 
result. Going immediately to Fifth street market 
space I was undeceived; there I saw that large space 
filled with thousands of people. Four or five differ- 
ent speaker's stands were erected, and the most popu- 
lar orators of the day were speaking. to the multitude 
in animated terms. I returned home, satisfied that 
the Whigs would carry the da\ T . Nevertheless, with 
all these hard efforts, Hamilton county was only car- 
ried by a bare majority. The day of the election pre- 
sented other and different scenes. There had been 
not only great excitement, but a great many threats 
made. The Democrats, as I have said, carried clubs 
in their procession, and many of the Whigs, alarmed, 
carried pistols. The prudent men of the parties de- 
termined to keep the peace, and took all proper pre- 
cautions. The grog-shops were all closed, the police 
were all armed and ready, and the polls so prepared 
that if possible there should be no trouble or difficulty. 
The polls opened at, I think, six o'clock in the morn- 
ing. Long before that time people began to crowd 
around the voting places. The executive committees 
had taken the precaution to place a board walk from 



Personal Memories. 3*23 

the window where the votes were received nearly 
across the street, so that the voters could proceed in 
order without collision. On each side of this board 
walk, and next the window, the challenging commit- 
tees took their places, and challenged all voters who 
seemed to he doubtful. When I went to vote the 
line of voters extended entirely across the street, and 
it took considerable time to vote. Nearly the entire 
vote of the city was polled. The city of Cincinnati 
gave fifteen hundred majority, which, in a city of 
forty-six thousand inhabitants, was a large majority. 
The country townships were nearly all Democratic, so 
that the county of Hamilton only gave about one hun- 
dred Whig majority. I have given these details only 
to show the reader a picture of one of the most re- 
markable elections ever held in this country, and 
which made a profound impression upon all those who 
took part in it. The general election terminated, as 
history has recorded it, in the victory of General 
Harrison. He received the electoral votes of all the 
states but six. This, however, did not represent the 
true proportion of parties; for, while he received 
this great electoral vote, he received only one hundred 
and forty-seven thousand majority in two and a half 
million votes Maine, Pennsylvania, and one or two 
other states had only given him three or four hundred 
majority. The general result, therefore, was, that 
while the triumph was complete, the real strength of 
parties was not materially changed. Let us now turn 
to those minor and amusing scenes which may inter- 
est the reader more than the historical result. Hun- 
dreds of these occurred, but a halt' dozen will show 
their nature. Among others was the celebrated slang 



324 Personal Memories. 

expression of O. K., which figured in every news- 
paper. It came about in this way: We received re- 
turns of local elections from many quarters, and 
some of them from very illiterate persons. Most of 
them were in favor of the Whigs, and the sender of 
news would be often very exultant ; one of them gave 
a return of a Whig victory, and added " Oil ITorect," 
and immediately the Whig editors adopted this sign 
for their victory, O. K., and so it went through all the 
country. Another term used then, and for several 
years after, was "Loco-loco" and " Loco-f >coism." 
Nobocty would know from these ternn what they 
meant, but it originated in this way: The Democratic 
party in the city of New York, whose headquarters 
was in Tammany Hall, and of which the Tammany 
Society was the controlling element, never was, and is 
not to-day, entirely united; there was a faction within 
a faction. The differences arose from differences in 
social condition. The working men could not then, 
and can not now be altogether controlled. They are 
always inclined to think that the evils of society are 
owirg to the rich and higher classes of society, and 
to their influence in the government. The wealthy and 
intelligent part of Tammany Society were undoubt- 
edly conservative; but the working men were much 
less so, and inclined to some new policy within the 
Democratic part}^ favorable to themselves. About 
this time, or a little before, there had been an out- 
break in the working man's class of the Democratic 
party, and they ran an independent ticket of their 
own. They got about ten thousand votes in the city 
of New York, and this is about the proportion of 
votes they get nowaday in the cities. During the 



Personal Memories. 825 



disturbed state of the business of the country a great 
meeting was held in Tammany Hall, the object of 
which I do not rembeniber, but in which these oppo- 
site factions appeared in force and occasioned a re- 
markable scene. One faction, I do not remember 
which, not finding matters go to suit them, had pre- 
pared for this event by at once extinguishing the 
lights and leaving the hall in darkness. The other fac- 
tion had anticipated something of the kind, and 
brought with them the lucifer, or as some called them, 
the loco-foco matches. With these they immediately 
relighted the hall, and carried out their proceedings. 
The Whi^s, who delierhted in ridicule and nick-names, 
immediately called the Democrats the "Loco-foco 
party," and this name was attached to them for several 
years. " O. K. and "Loco-foco" figured in all the 
Whig papers of the country. The " Loco-focos did so 
and so," and Whig victory was " 0. K." I have, by 
these incidents, given some idea of that remarkable 
political campaign, in which log cabins and hard cider 
figured in processions, and "Loco-focos" and " 0. Iv." 
in the newspapers, and the whole was made musical by 
the glee clubs, with " Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." I 
may close this account with two or three squibs, which 
appeared after the election. Among the types of vic- 
tory or defeat was the rooster, either fallen on the 
battle-field or crowing for victory. In one cut was 
seen, on the left the log cabin, and on the right a no- 
ble rooster crowing, with his foot on his fallen an- 
tagonist, and underneath was this verse : 

" Have you heard from all the Union, 
Union, Union, 
Good news and true; 



326 Personal Memories. 

Hundreds of thousands is the tune 

For Tippecanoe and Tyler too, 
Tippecanoe and Tyler too. 
And with them we 've beat Little Van ! 

Van, Van 'a a used-up man !" 

Among others was a new version of " Cock l\obin," 

published in the jSTew York American by a young 

lady : 

"Who killed small Matty ? 
We, says Tippecanoe, 
I, and Tyler, too, 
We killed small Matty. 

"Who saw him die, oh? 
I, says O-h-i-o, 
With my big Buckeye, oh I 
I saw him die. 

" Who dug his grave? 
I, says sturdy Maine, 
And would do it, too, again, 
I dug his gravel" 

And other verses of the same kind. Another cut 
represented a monument with a willow tree hanging 
over it, and a woman weeping. The monument was 
inscribed, "In memory of Ltoco-focoism^ 

Several plates represented the departure of a steam- 
boat and passengers for Salt river. Salt river was a 
stream in Kentucky, and it was a common saying 
when a person had been defeated or had met with a 
misfortune, that he " was rowed up Salt river." Sev- 
eral wood-cuts in the newspapers represented Van 
Bureo and his cabinet as going up Salt river. One 
of them was in the form of a newspaper advertise- 
ment. There was a cut of a steamboat and an an- 
nouncement that: "The steamboat Van Buren, only 



Personal Memories. 327 



four years old, commander Amos Kendall, will leave 
4th of March next for Salt river, via Kinderliook. 
For freight or passage, apply at the White House, 
Washington City, or at the captain's office." No less 
a poet than Dr. Percival wrote a jubilee song, entitled 
" Success to Tippecanoe." The last stanza was: 

" Then let us all stand by the honest old man, 
Who has rescued the country, and beat little Van. 
The spirit of evil has gotten its due; 
It is laid by the strong arm of Tippecanoe. 
In the front rank our nation shall now take its stand; 
Peace, order, prosperity, brighten the land. 
Then loud swell the voice of each good man and true, 
Success to the gallant Old Tippecanoe." 

But notwithstanding all this excitement, this show 
and parade, and this popular victory, the end was sad, 
if not unfortunate, both to thousands of individuals 
and to the entire nation. Harrison was inaugurated 
on the 4th of March, 1841; his cabinet was an excel- 
lent one, and the country seemed on the verge of great 
prosperity. As if to overturn this human vanity, 
Harrison died in thirty days after his inauguration. 
The nation was again agitated with new alarms. The 
people began to see, though they did not then com- 
prehend, the disastrous results of an administration 
by a man whose principles were opposed to those of 
the president elected and the party who elected him. 
The thing to be remedied was the financial condition 
of the country, and that could only be done by a na- 
tional bank and a national currency, or, in other 
words, the government taking control of the currency. 
But to all this Tyler was opposed, and nothing could 
be done. In consequence of this there was a violent 



328 Personal Memories. 



quarrel between Mr. Clay and Tyler. Clay was the 
leader of the Whig party, and the party followed him. 
The consequence was that the president (Tyler) was 
left with only live representatives in congress to sup- 
port him. The Democrats could not support him, for 
they had opposed his election and had nothing in 
common with him. The Whigs could carry no meas- 
ure on the currency, for Tyler was utterly opposed to 
their views. One thing favorable to the country was 
done. This was the passage of the tariff act of 1842- 
1843. This act, by encouraging American manufac- 
tures and supporting the industries of the country, 
really did good, and gradually the country in the next 
five or six years was reduced to its normal condition. 
I may here close this singular chapter of American 
history. The nomination of Tyler and the death of 
Harrison, both taught serious lessons. It taught, first, 
that no man should be nominated for vice-president 
who was not entirely fit to be president, and who was 
not in harmony with the party who elected him. 
And, again, Divine Providence taught, in the death 
of Harrison, the vanity of human hopes and the in- 
stability of human government. 



Personal Memories. 32.9 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Newspaper Press — Its Origin, Character, and Pur- 
poses — The English Press — Public Writers — The 
" Morning Chronicle " — Fox and Sheridan — " Public 
Advertiser" — Junius — The American Press — Freneaii) 
— Duane — Ritchie — Robert Walsh — " Evening Post" 
— Coleman — " National Intelligencer" — Gales — " New 
York Times" — Henry J. Raymond — Horace Greeley 
and Socialism — What should be the Tone and Char- 
acter of a Newspaper ? 

It will be seen from what I have related of my per- 
sonal memories, that much of my life has been spent 
in writing for the public. My first newspaper article 
was published in 1824, at Litchfield, Connecticut. In 
the more than half a century which has elapsed, there 
has heen no year in which I have not written for the 
press. In that time I became acquainted with many 
newspaper men aud the newspapers in which they 
were engaged. Perhaps for this reason it is not out 
of place to give my views of the history and charac- 
ter of the press in this country. It is now about two 
hundred years since the newspaper press became es- 
tablished as one of the great features of society. It 
has become so great and important an clement that it 
is quite as great as that of steam and locomotion. In 
one word, the newspaper press and steam comprehend 
all the great advance which society has made in mod- 
ern days. Prior to newspapers, literature was wholly 



330 Personal Memories. 



comprised in books, and these books could only be 
known to few persons. Now, the newspaper not only 
circulates its own news and information, but circulates 
the knowledge of books, so that the whole quantity, 
as well as value of literature, is much increased. 
Again, a writer for the daily press reaches a hundred 
readers where the bookmaker, pulpit orator, or pub- 
lic speaker can reach one. The public writer in the 
newspaper, therefore, if he has any information, 
thought, or idea that is valuable, can give it a weight 
or influence which no public speaker or other writer 
is able to do. This is the real power of the press. It 
is the power to give any thought or information a far 
greater range than any public writer or speaker can. 
Is there anything valuable in the way of new ideas, 
inventions, or discoveries, the newspaper gives them 
ubiquity and makes them the common property of the 
people. Is there anything good in a book, a news- 
paper takes it up and gives it universal circulation. In 
one word the newspaper is the great forum in which 
all news, information, and discoveries are discussed and 
published. It is the great school-room in which more 
is tausrht than in all the school-rooms of the world. 
Such is the power of the press, which sends its sheets 
through the world, "thick as the leaves in Vallam- 
brosa's vale." 

The history of the newspaper press lias had three 
periods, each distinct in character from the others. 
The first period comprehended more than half of the 
whole of newspaper existence. There was then no 
real freedom of the press, and, as a consequence, the 
newspaper was little more than a diary of the most 
ordinary events. The news given related chiefly to 



Personal Memories. 331 

foreign affairs, with such accounts of murders and 
calamities as were publicly known. Domestic poli- 
tics were not discussed, literary criticism was un- 
known, and there were no pains taken to produce 
news for the papers. In one word, a newspaper re- 
corded many things which the public wanted, but was 
totally uninteresting as to any discussion on religion, 
politics, or literature. The first advertisement was in- 
serted in 1(348, and the first newspaper devoted to ad- 
vertising and commercial intelligence was established 
in 1657. This period of the press continued for more 
than one hundred years. About the time of the 
American revolution, the newspaper assumed a new 
character, the restraints upon the freedom of the 
press in Europe and America were taken oft". The 
newspaper then began to discuss religious, political, and 
literary cpiestions with a boldness which has scarcely 
been exceeded since. In 1762, appeared " The 
North Briton" edited by Wilkes, in England, who 
played a conspicuous part in consolidating the 
liberty of the press. Every reader of political his- 
tory knows how Wilkes was prosecuted in libel suits; 
what celebrated trials took place ; how he was perse- 
cuted ; how the people sustained him, and how, at 
last, the liberty of the press was established. In 1766, 
appeared the Englishman, chiefly known as contain- 
ing contributions from Edmund Burke. In 1767, the 
Public Advertiser published the first letter of Junius. 
Perhaps, no articles, before or since, in any newspaper, 
have attracted so much public attention. It was not 
merely the ability of the writer, but the peculiar state 
of English politics at that time, which gave these Jun- 
ius letters importance. Parties had degenerated into 



332 Personal Memories. 



personal factions. The machinery of government 
was made personal and often corrupt. In the midst 
of these factions, George the III set up his own per- 
sonal government. His adherents were called the 
King's party. He undertook to rule by virtue of his 
own prerogative; in point of fact, the royal preroga- 
tive w T as abridged by the death of Charles the I, and 
abolished, substantially, at least, by the Revolution of 
1689. William the III, though personally despotic, 
paid great regard to his ministry and to parliament. 
Ann, George the First, and George the Second, made 
no pretensions to personal government. If, in their 
time, there w^as any personal government, it was ac- 
complished more through Caroline, wife of George 
the Second, than any other person. She governed 
through Sir Robert Walpole,who was prime minister. 
George the Third, probably because he found parties 
degenerated into personal factions, set up a King's 
party, and in this he was as obstinate and injudicious as 
he afterward was in the American Revolution. It was 
in this state of things that Junius appeared in the col- 
umns of the A<lvertiser. If his own account be correct, 
and his writings any indication of his true feelings, he 
seems to have been a man of much real patriotism, 
though probably with personal objects in view. He, 
certainly, in the case of General Warrants, and the 
special case of Wilkes, advocated what we should now 
call the unquestionable rights of the people. He de- 
fended public justice and attacked public corruption. 
He used the weapons of sarcasm, of invective, rhetoric, 
and even of law and of facts with unsparing ferocity, lie 
had mercy on no party and no man, when within the line 
of his attack. He attacked the king, the noble, and 



Personal Memories. 333 

commoner with a caustic severity which lias had no 
parallel in the press. In doing this, lie spared neither 
pains nor labor with his compositions. He, himself, 
states this in one of his letters, and thought that the 
labor of his writing was a great task. This fact is 
well worth remembering by one who would write for 
the public. The most effective writers we have known 
have been painstaking and laborious in their early, if 
not in their later writings. Writing for the public is 
in itself an education, and the first person to be educated 
is the writer himself. It is only after years of habitual 
composition that a writer can afford to write with 
such facility as to make little or no correction. This 
ease and address is acquired ouly by habitual experi- 
ence. It may be thus acquired, but is, like education 
itself, the result of time and labor. Junius used both 
these means, and, as a consequence, his writings rank 
among the finest compositions in the English language. 
I 've heard it said, that Junius was only remarkable 
for invective and abuse. This is not true. He is re- 
markable for the best use of the English language, for 
strong sentiment, uttered in strong Anglo-Saxon. He 
had a good cause in asserting the rights of the people 
against royalty and corruption, and he used it with 
great effect. It is now one hundred years since he 
wrote his letters in the Advertiser, and there is prob- 
ably no writer of his day better known than Junius. 
The letters of Junius were among the many con- 
tributions to newspapers which mark personal influence 
in the press. For the next seventy or eighty years 
newspapers were influential according to the personal 
character and ability of their editors and contributors. 
In that period many remarkable men were connected 



334 Personal Memories. 



with the press of both Europe and America, of whom 
I shall speak again. But within half a century after 
the appearance of the letters of Junius, there began to 
appear a class of papers, best described by the literal 
term newspapers. The first and greatest of these was 
The London Times, which appeared under the title 
of The Universal Register; it was a daily paper, and 
its circulation only a thousand copies, while other 
papers were far more numerous. Among them were 
The Morning Chronicle, and Morning Post, which 
had great literary and political importance, especially 
on account of their celebrated contributors. Mr. 
Stuart was editor of the Morning Post, to which 
Coleridge, Southey, Lamb, Wordsworth, and Macin- 
tosh contributed. Mr. J. Perry was editor of the 
Morning Chronicle. Fox and Sheridan were his 
personal friends, and contributed to the ability and 
influence of the Chronicle. In the meanwhile The 
Times, which was published by John Walter, was 
steadily gaining ground. Its remarkable success 
since then is due to several causes. It was free from 
party ties. It was conducted with great business care, 
and used steam power for its printing press. On the 
morning of November 29, 1814, the readers of The 
Times were informed that "the journal of this day 
presents to the public the practical result of the greatest 
improvement connected with printing since the dis- 
covery of the art itself." This was the application of 
steam to the printing press ; but, after all, the greatest 
improvement, and the greatest success of the Times 
was in the collection of news. The Times was, I 
believe, the first newspaper which employed special 
couriers and private expresses to get the news in ad- 



Personal Memories. 385 



ranee of the mails. In this they were successful, and 
the public became accustomed to looking to the 
Times for the earliest intelligence of any important 
matter. This increased its circulation, but The Thins, 
and other newspapers, continued to add to their 
facilities. Ou January 29, 1829, The Times came out 
with a double sheet, composed of eight pages of 
forty-eight columns. At the same time it increased 
its domestic intelligence, and gave minute accounts of 
trials, crimes, accidents, etc. Reporting, as now under- 
stood, especially parliamentary proceedings, began at 
a very early day, but was so imperfect and unreliable 
as to be unimportant. The speeches were never re- 
ported as spoken, and could not as reported be relied 
on as correct. Even as late as Dr. Johnson's time, he 
was said to have written himself the speeches in par- 
liament, some of which have become famous. Every 
boy in college remembers the attack of "Walpole upon 
Pitt, and Pitt's famous reply: "I am charged with the 
atrocious crime of being a young man !" Put it is said 
they were both written by Johnson. The business of 
reporting for newspapers has now arrived at a perfec- 
tion which was not then dreamed of. The speech of 
the orator now is not only reported accurately, but 
literally, word for word, and the portrait of the orator 
in thought and speech is now laid before the public. 
This brings us to the last of the newspaper epochs. 
In one word a newspaper is now strictly and literally 
a 'Newspaper. It is no longer a mere record of foreign 
and commercial intelligence. It is no longer a mere 
personal representative, dependent on the ability of its 
writers. Ability of the highest order it must hare, and 
it would soon sink without it; but its great character- 



336 Personal Memories. 

istic is the diffusion of universal intelligence ; in this 
there is nothing too high or too low for its observation. 
We hear of the march of great armies, but also of the 
thief at midnight. We hear of the great orator, but 
also of the petty street wrangler. We hear of the 
earthquake that shakes half the globe, and also of the 
falling of a small house. We hear of the death of a 
renowned captain, and also of the suicide of a poor 
girl. In one word, we hear of both the great and the 
minute, of the social and the solitary, the good and the 
bad ; in fact, the eye of a great newspaper is now upon 
the whole world. There is nothing hidden that is not 
brought to light, and nothing so obscure that it is not 
made lucid. Every art, science, and talent of the 
modern world have been brought to the aid of the 
newspaper. From the steam press which throws off 
its tens of thousands of sheets, to the locomotive 
which carries its express messenger; from the steam 
ship which carries its reporter to the remotest regions, 
to the telegraph which flashes its news, all arts and in- 
ventions aid the newspaper. Thus aided by modern 
inventions, the newspaper is making the human mind 
ubiquitous. Nations correspond and discuss affairs, 
as individuals did in times past. Thus nations are 
brought together, and the world is filled with universal 
intelligence. This progress of the newspaper has been 
the work of the last half century, and is certainly not 
the least of those evidences of progress which char- 
acterize the present age. I shall not stop now to de- 
scribe it further, but shall return to notice some of the 
most distinguished editors and writers who marked 
what I have termed the personal period of the news- 
paper. I have already mentioned some of the great 



Personal Memories. 337 

names which have distinguished the English press. I 
will now proceed to notice the personclle of the United 
States press. 

Philip Freneau was one 'of the first journalists who 
attracted attention in this country. He was more of a 
poet than a journalist. He graduated at Princeton 
College, New Jersey, and was the room-mate and per- 
sonal friend of James Madison. He began his literary 
career by writing a poetical history of the Prophet 
Jonah. He was the author of the Indian ballad, be- 
ginning : 

" The sun sets at night and the stars shun the day, 
But glory remains when their light fades away. 
Begin, ye tormentors! Your threats are in vain, 
For the son of Alknomack shall never complain!" 

The first couplet ought to give fame to any writer. 
It contains one of the most beautiful images in nature. 
This ballad was attributed to an English lady, but it 
has been satisfactorily ascertained to be Freneau's. 
Upon the establishment of the Federal government at 
Philadelphia, he was appointed French translator in 
the department of state under Mr. Jefferson, and at 
the same time became editor of the National Gazette. 
That paper was made the vehicle of bitter attacks on 
the administration of Washington ; but it was said 
Freneau was not responsible for them. He himself 
said that the most severe of them were dictated by 
Jefferson. That paper was discontinued in October, 
1793, and two years after Freneau started a paper at 
Middletown, New Jersey, which continued but a short 
time. Freneau is now little known, but he was a true 
poet and an able writer. Several editions of his poems 
were published in his lifetime. Scott and Campbell 



338 Personal Memories. 

borrowed whole lines from liim, and Jeffrey predicted 
that his poems would be as well known as Hudibras. 
William Duane was one of the most noted editors 
in the United States. He was born in New York; 
learned the art of printing, and went to India to seek 
his fortune. There he edited a paper called the World. 
Having offended the government, he was seized, sent 
to England, and his property confiscated. There he 
edited a paper called The General Advertiser, and sided 
with a faction headed by Home Tooke. In 1795 he 
returned to America, and became editor of the^l urora, 
published at Philadelphia. This paper became the 
most influential organ of the Democratic party. Jef- 
ferson attributed his election to its influence. At that 
time party spirit was higher than it had ever previously 
been in America. Philadelphia was a Federal town, 
and the Federalists distinguished themselves by a 
black cockade. The office of the Aurora was mobbed, 
and my father (then teaching in Philadelphia) was one 
of a party of Democrats who defended it. When the 
seat of government was moved from Philadelphia to 
Washington, the A urora declined, but Duane continued 
to edit it until 1822. He was not a fine writer, but a 
powerful political advocate. One of the most -noted 
political editors in this country was Thomas Ritchie. 
He was born in Virginia, and edited the Richmond 
Enquirer from 1804-1845. He was the leading, and 
perhaps most influential, Democratic editor at that 
time. There were in these days two political cen- 
ters, Albany and Richmond, Va. The managers 
of the Democratic party in those places were called 
the Albany and Richmond " Juntos." At Albany the 
chief manager was Martin Van Buren, and at Rich- 



Personal Memories. 839 



mond, Ritchie, Madison, and others of the Virginia 
clique held sway. 

In the forty years in which Mr. Ritchie was editor, 
these juntos held supreme control in the Democratic 
party, and through that over the country. When 
Ritchie left the Enquirer to edit the Union, in Wash- 
ington, Polk was elected president, the western influ- 
ence began to assert itself, and the juntos of Albany 
and Richmond ceased to be supreme. In 1849 Ritchie 
retired, after a long and successful editorial career. 
He was a strong writer, a distinguished man, and, 
through the Virginia dynasty, exercised a great influ- 
ence on the politics of the country. 

William Coleman was for nearly thirty years a lead- 
ing editor in the Federal party of New York. He 
was born and educated in Massachusetts. He was bred 
to the bar, and was for a short time a partner with 
Aaron Burr in the practice of the law. But, in 1801, 
Hamilton and other leading Federalists set up a daily 
paper in the city of New York, and selected Coleman, 
who was a warm Federalist, to conduct it. This paper 
was the now well-known Evening Post, and, in the 
nearly eighty years of its existence, has been conducted 
for most of that time by Coleman and Bryant. When 
Coleman first began his career, party contests w T ere 
very hot, and Coleman was involved in several per- 
sonal conflicts. Nevertheless, he and the Post main- 
tained their ground. The Evening Post has survived 
hundreds of papers which have flourished and died 
since it was established. Soon after Coleman left it, 
Bryant became editor, and for more than forty years 
maintained and increased the reputation of the paper. 
The next editor I shall mention was perhaps more sue- 



340 Personal Memories. 



cessful than any I have noted. This was Joseph Gales, 
editor of the National Intelligencer. His father was an 
Englishman, who had edited a paper in England; 
came to the United States, and edited the Raleigh Reg- 
ister, of North Carolina. Joseph Gales was himself 
horn in England, bat in 1800 came to "Washington, and 
began his career in the National Intelligencer. This was 
a Republican paper ; for the reader will observe that 
the old Democratic party never called itself Demo- 
cratic, but was officially known as the Republican 
party. The reader who will refer to the old files of the 
National Intelligencer will find that every caucus held 
by congress was called the Republican caucus. In fact, 
it was not until Van Buren's time, as we have learned, 
that the Democratic party called itself Democratic. 
The Intelligencer survived fifty years, aud died daring 
the war of the Rebellion. 

The only other editor of the last generation I shall 
mention is Robert Walsh. He was, in every respect, 
a noteworthy person ; he was born in Baltimore, and 
died in Paris. He was, during his life, both a polit- 
ical and literary character. He was a Roman Cath- 
olic ; studied law with the celebrated Robert Goodloe 
Harper, and traveled in Europe. Naturally inclined 
to literature, he did little at the law, but began writ- 
ing for the " Portfolio," edited monthly by Joseph 
Deunie. From this time forth, he was nearly half a 
century a public writer. He had, from his travels in 
France, formed his own opinions and opposed the pol- 
icy of Napoleon, and published strictures upon it 
which met with great public favor in England. He 
made two strong but unsuccessful attempts to estab- 
lish an American Quarterly. In 1811), he published 



Personal Memories. 341 



"An Appeal from the Judgments of Great Britain," 
respecting the United States of America. The occa- 
sion of this was a continual abuse and criticism upon 
the American action of all kinds, by the press of 
Great Britain. To look back upon it now, it seems a 
surprising example of the weakness of human nature, 
manifested in the jealous}^ of a great nation. I have 
already, perhaps, mentioned that while we were liv- 
ing at Mill creek, a man called on my father, who 
gave his name as D'Arville, but whose real name was 
Thomas Ash, an Englishman. lie cheated Dr. Go- 
forth out of the skeleton of a mammoth, and pub- 
lished a book in England abusing America. The 
book was profitable, and from that time, to Mrs. Trol- 
lope and her successors, abuse of America continued 
to be popular in England. Walsh took the matter up 
and his "Appeal" was a useful and able work. One 
of the British quarterlies had sneeringly asked : " Who 
reads an American book?" To put that question in 
contrast with the present re-publication in England 
of all noted American books, is decidedly amusing. 
More than forty years ago, Dr. Dwight published his 
" Tlieoloyy" a work which Scotch and English critics 
pronounced the best modern work upon that subject 
in the English language. In 1821, Walsh became ed- 
itor of the Philadelphia National Gazette, one of the 
ablest and best papers in the United States. It was 
strongly conservative, sustained the Whig party, and 
probably had more literary readers than any paper in 
the country. 

After some fifteen years' existence, the paper de- 
clined, and Walsh was appointed consul to Paris. 
There he was the Paris correspondent of the National 



342 Personal Memories. 

Intelligencer and Journal of Commerce. Of Ttmrlow 
"Weed, in Albany, Benjamin Russell, of Boston, Wil- 
liam L. Stone and Nathaniel Carter, of New 5Tork, it 
is unnecessary to speak ; they are well known. Of 
Charles Hammond, I have fully spoken in iny notice 
of Cincinnati. Of Horace Greeley also, I make no spe- 
cial notice, because he is well known to all readers of 
newspapers. To Henry J. Raymond notice is due, 
because he was one of my friends and one of my ear- 
liest newspaper acquaintances. 

He was born in Western New York, graduated at 
the University of Vermont, and began the study of 
the law, but both his tastes and his necessities obliged 
him to resort to something else. He began liis con- 
tributions to the New Yorker in 1840, and the next 
year, when Greeley established the Tribune,he became 
the assistant editor. In 1843, he entered the staff of 
the New York Courier, then edited by James Watson 
Webb, where he remained the next seven years. In 
the meantime he had become noted as a reporter; he 
had remarkable ability for work of this kind, which 
has, since then, become very important. 

During his connection with the Courier, he had a 
controversy with Horace Greeley on the subject of so- 
cialism, as advocated by Fourier. Greeley was always 
eccentric, and in nothing more than his attachment to 
socialism. He was always making schemes to reform 
society, by law or organization. The socialistic 
schemes of Fourier were attempted in this country by 
several associations, and were all failures. In my day, 
I have seen this socialistic idea attempted in several 
different* ways, from the Society of Rapp, in Pennsyl- 
vania, to that of New Harmony, in Indiana. From 



Personal Memories. 343 



that of Robert Owen to Fourier and Shakerism. Some- 
times they have succeeded in making a peaceful, quiet 
community, as that of the Shakers, but have never 
succeeded in being either useful or profitable to the 
same extent as the same number of persons in general 
society. It is not in accordance with the principles 
of Christianity. Christianity does not propose to re- 
form societjr by law or organization, but to bring 
forth the peaceful fruits of righteousness by reforming 
the heart. Raymond was said to be a born editor, 
and he was one. He was one to whom editino* and 
managing a newspaper was as familiar as the elements 
around him. In 1841-1842, when I was editing 1 the 
Chronicle, he was, for a short time, a correspondent of 
the paper. 

In 1850, having had a disagreement with Webb, he 
left the Courier, and, in 1851, founded the Neiv York 
Times. This was an important event in journalism, 
for the New York Times has become one of the most 
important newspapers in this country. Raymond was 
attached to the Whig party, and naturally a radical, 
but he kept the limes in fact conservative, for he well 
knew that a great paper in lSTew York city must de- 
rive its chief support from the conservative element in 
society. He knew what a newspaper should be, and 
gradually brought up the Times to his ideal standard. 
On the formation of the Republican party, he took an 
active part, and made speeches for Fremont, and at a 
subsequent period he was elected member of congress, 
and lieutenant-governor of JSTew T York. In all this, 
however, he took less interest than the Times. Before 
his death, he ceased to hold office or political aspira- 
tion. He told me, himself, that he thought holding 



344 Personal Memories. 

office was injurious to his paper. He died too young, 
not merely for himself, but for the public interest. I 
will mention here some of the characteristics of editors 
and newspapers. It is somewhat remarkable that, ex- 
cepting Mr. Raymond and Mr. Walsh, who was con- 
sul, hardly any of the noted editors of the United 
States have held office. It was not for want of ample 
opportunity. Ritchie, Gales, Hammond, and probably 
others, refused office. Nearly all editors of leading 
newspapers have realized, what is certainly the fact, 
that their position had more influence than any office 
could confer. Besides this, all public writers acquire 
a strong taste for that pursuit, and there are few in- 
stances of anyone being diverted from it. 

I now come to the question of what is the proper 
tone and character of a newspaper. I am asked : 
What should a newspaper be ? I answer, first of all, it 
should be a newspaper. But this includes many things, 
positive and negative ; and, as far as observation and 
experience enable me, I will give my views upon that 
subject. First of all, a newspaper should be imper- 
sonal. We have noticed three periods of newspaper 
existence. The first was barren of anything but com- 
mercial and foreign intelligence ; the second was noted 
for the ability and influence of its writers ; and the 
third, in which we now are, is that of the real news- 
paper, in which news is the main point, but in which 
great ability in all departments must be manifested in 
the discussion of all questions — for this fresh discussion 
is in part news, being later and much more fresh than 
any books or dogmatic learning. When I say that 
the main business of a newspaper is news, I do not 
forget that the ablest articles on all topics of the day 



Personal Memories. 345 



do and ought to appear in newspapers, but the editor- 
ship of a newspaper, that department which assumes 
to say " we," should be impersonal. Nothing is more 
common, or generally more disgusting to the reader, 
than the personal controversies of John Robinson and 
Joe Thompson, as newspaper editors. Contributors 
to the French press generally sign their names, hut 
they do not enter into personal controversies. The 
practice of signing names to articles by contributors, 
is commendable, when the writer is known, and no 
special object in concealment. On the other hand, 
there is no objection to the " anonymous." Some most 
absurd things have been written upon this subject. It 
is claimed that every writer should sign his name to 
his articles. This is absurd ; for, it may be, the tilings 
written may be important and useful to be known, and 
yet the writer become obnoxious by stating them. 
The things he has said are true, and ought to be stated, 
but there is no reason why he should expose himself 
to obloquy by signing his name. His name, however, 
should be known to the editor, and then the paper 
will stand between him and the public. A most re- 
markable instance of this was in the case of Junius. 
Woodfall, the publisher of the "Public Advertiser" ac- 
knowledged that he had seen Junius, and knew him, 
but his name was never disclosed, and probably never 
will be. From this something may be inferred about 
Junius. That is, that Junius was a man of wealth 
and influence, or Woodfall would never have accepted 
his guarranty against the dangers he encountered. 

The anonymous has its uses, but whether it shall be 
| permitted or not must be left to the discretion of the 
i editor. The next, and, in one respect, the most im- 



346 Personal Memories. 

portant part of the paper, is to employ able contribu- 
tors, who can discuss any particular question in the 
fullest and most complete manner. This is done by 
all the large city papers, and must be done by all pa- 
pers which expect to attain reputation and influence. 
We have seen that this has been done by the great 
English papers. Burke, Sheridan, Johnson, Coleridge, 
and many others of like rank, were, as we have al- 
ready said, contributors to London papers. In the 
United States, John Quincy Adams contributed to the 
National Intelligencer ; Hamilton and Madison con- 
tributed to other papers. There x^an be no good 
reason why a newspaper should not employ the ablest 
pens in literature, politics, or science, in the same man- 
ner as publishers of books. They have a great ad- 
vantage in this, as their publications can be, at the 
same time, fresh, instant, and popular. In one word, 
a newspaper should be in advance of all publications, 
on the greatest as well as smallest subjects of thought, 
discussion, or fact. In this department, also, the 
newspaper should be absolutely free. It should al- 
low contributors to discuss all sides of any subject, 
provided it be done in a decent and temperate manner. 
In this respect most religious and political papers have 
made a mistake. They usually adopt the side of a 
particular party or sect, and allow no other opinions 
to be expressed in their columns. This diminishes 
the general interest of a paper, and certainly its fair- 
ness. Of course there are limits to free discussion. 
Treason should' not be permitted to be published — 
neither treason to faith or to government. A Christian 
paper should not permit infidel attacks upon Chris- 
tianity to appear in its columns. A political paper 



Personal Memories. 347 

should not publish attacks on the foundation of a Repub- 
lican government, for such attacks are, in reality, trea- 
son. Within these limits, however, a great newspaper 
has a Avide and useful range of discussion. Absolute 
freedom of the press is an essential element of a great 
newspaper. Now I come to a point on which there 
has been much difference of opinion between readers 
of newspapers and their publishers. This is relative 
to the duty of a newspaper to advocate, at all hazards, 
certain great principles of morals, religion, or politics. 
The individual reader, let us say — whom we may sup- 
pose to be a just and good man — insists that his pa- 
per should advocate certain good measures, just as 
he sees them. In this he mistakes the office and pur- 
pose of a newspaper. Unless a paper is established 
for the express purpose of advocating a particular 
cause, that advocacy is not its business or necessarily 
its duty. Its office, as I have described it, is to diffuse 
intelligence, to sell to the people information and in- 
telligence on all subjects which they need information 
upon or are interested in. In doing this its material 
support depends upon that sale, and not upon the per- 
sonal integrity of its editors and publishers. Un- 
doubtedly, as upright men, they could not publish 
what is against a good cause, but, on the other hand, 
unless they are recpuired to be martyrs, they can not 
sacrifice to any abstract opinions either their paper or 
their usefulness. On this subject, however, I may 
boldly claim for the newspaper press, that it has done 

I and suffered as much for a good cause, as any other 
business or class in the community. 

There is another point — so much can not be said for 

i newspapers. This is the publication of improper or 



348 Personal Memories. 

immoral advertisements. This is done to a great ex- 
tent by publishing medical advertisements, and those 
of saloons and public places of resort, which are 
known to have an immoral tendency. The excuse for 
this is that advertising is a business, and a profitable 
one to the paper, and that a newspaper is a public 
forum. This is a good excuse as far as it goes, but 
it goes no farther than is allowed to conduct in the 
public streets. It is well known that public opinion, 
and even the law itself, docs not permit certain con- 
duct in the streets. Why should a newspaper be 
more privileged? Yet we often find in the columns 
of newspapers advertisements, especially medical ad- 
vertisements, containing words and ideas which would 
not be permitted expression on the public forum. 
Happily this practice is being abandoned, and I have 
seen several first-class papers which do not contain 
them. We may now see, from what I have said, in 
what the real power and influence of a newspaper 
consists. Taken in its collective character, it is the 
only organ of general intelligence. Books fail in 
this, because they are partial and read by few. Schools 
fail in this matter, because, except in universities, they 
never reach-the high thought and discussion on im- 
portant questions, especially practical and commercial, 
which is found in the great newspapers of the present 
time. In fine, the newspaper diffuses universal in- 
formation. It has given ubiquity to intelligence, free- 
dom to discussion, power to thought, by impressing 
it upon the minds of millions. The newspaper is to 
mind what steam is to matter — gives locomotion to 
ideas, as steam does to persons. Both are character- 
istic of the present age — monuments to the progress 
of invention, of learning, and of freedom. 

H28 75 I 1 



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